History  of  the  Girtys 


BEING    A    CONCISE    ACCOUNT    OF   THE    GIRTY    BROTHERS- 
THOMAS,    SIMON,    JAMES   AND    GEORGE,    AND    01    THEIR 
HALF-BROTHER,  JOHN    TURNER— ALSO  OF  THE   PART 
TAKEN  BY   THEM   IN    LORD   DUNMORE'S  WAR,  IN 
THE  WESTERN  BORDER  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLU- 
TION, AND  IN  THE  INDIAN  WAR  OF  I790-95 


WITH  A  RECITAL  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  EVLNTS  IN  THE  WEST  DURING 
THESE  WARS,  DRAWN   FROM  AUTHENTIC  SOURCES,     ,; 
LARGELY  ORIGINAL 


BY 

CONSUL  WILLSHIRE  BUTTERFIELD 

Author  of  "An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky  under 
Col.  William  Crawford  in  178a,"  etc. 


CINCINNATI 

ROBERT   CLARKE   &   CO. 

1890 


/l'ld\) 


0152- 


Copyrighted 
ROBERT  CLARKE  &  CO 

1890 


PREFACE. 


It  adds  much  to  the  pleasure  of  an  author,  in  writing  biog- 
raphies of  persons,  to  be  in  sympathy  with  them ;  but  this  oc- 
casionally results  in  unmerited  praise.  On  the  other  hand,  where 
the  writer  pursues  his  self-imposod  labor  with  a  feeling  of  antago- 
nism, unjust  detraction  may  ensue. 

While  it  is  true  that  an  extended  notice  of  the  three  Girtys — 
Simon,  James,  and  George — was  undertaken  because  of  the  notori- 
ety they  had  obtained,  yet  the  principal  reason  for  prosecuting  this 
work  to  a  final  completion  has  been  that  there  is  an  apparent  neces- 
sity for  our  Western  annals  to  be  freed,  so  far  as  may  be,  from 
error,  every-where  permeating  them  as  to  the  part  actually  taken 
by  these  brothers — particularly  Simon — in  many  of  the  important 
events  which,  to  a  considerable  extent,  make  up  the  history  of  the 
Trans-Alleghany  country. 

It  is  because  so  manv  "ccuflictiuo;  statements"  have  heretofore 
been  published  concerning  the  Girtys — sometimes,  however,  in  frag- 
mentary form,  but  generally  incorporated  in  Western  historical 
works — that,  along  with  the  accounts  of  them  in  these  pages,  are 
also  given  brief  sketches  of  the  principal  occurrences  in  which  they 
took  part  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  These  events  are  drawn  from 
authentic  sources,  largely  original ;  and  as  they  are  interwoven 
with  the  life-record  of  the  three  brothers,  they  are  arranged,  of 
course,  in  chronological  order.  This  book,  then,  is  historical  as 
well  as  biographical.  And  it  may  here  be  added  that  the  author  has 
kept  constantly  in  mind  one  object  as  paramount  to  all  others — the 
statement  of  facts,  as  he  understands  them. 

To  confine  these  pages,  however,  to  a  bare  mention  of  occur- 
rences, giving  the  name  of  the  Girty  who  took  part  in  any  particu- 
lar one,  would  be  simply  to  make  a  dry  chronological  record ;  this 
might  be  useful,  but  it  would  not  be  entertaining.  If  it  should 
appear  that  Simon's  name,  during  the  Revolution,  became  a  house- 
hold word  of  terror  all  along  the  Western  borders  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  the  reader  will  naturally  want  to  know  the  reason  why. 
Details,  therefore,  become  necessary.  We  shall  see  that  not  only 
Simon,  but  James  and  George,  were  cognizant  of,  or  participants  in 

(iii) 


iv  Preface. 

many  of  those  events  which  make  the  history  of  our  country  so  full 
of  interest.  Their  lives,  from  boyhood  to  old  age,  were  indeed 
"  tragically  romantic." 

Pennsylvanians  by  birth,  they  were  prisoners  to  the  Indians  in 
the  old  French  war.  Simon  was  a  noted  scout  in  Lord  Dunmore's 
war ;  and  he,  with  his  two  brothers  before  named,  was  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  interest  of  Britain  during  the  last  five  years  of  the 
Revolution.  In  the  Indian  war  of  1790-95,  Simon  and  George 
aided  the  savages — the  former  in  a  way  especially  effective.  But 
what  has  given  the  three  brothers  particular  notoriety  was  their 
warring  against  their  countrymen  in  connection  with  the  Indians, 
from  1778  to  1783,  inclusive. 

An  inteiest  in  another  of  the  Girty  brothers — Thomas — and  a 
half-brother — John  Turner — is  awakened  because  of  the  bearing 
their  lives  have  upon  the  career  of  their  three  more  noted  relatives. 
Therefore  it  is  that  they,  too,  are  oticed  at  some  length  in  the 
pages  following.  Other  members  of  the  family  are  mentioned — 
only,  however,  in  an  incidental  manner. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to 
Douglas  Brymner,  Esq.,  of  Ottawa,  Canada,  for  promptly  furnish- 
ing whatever  copies  have  been  called  for  of  the  transcripts  of  the 
Haldimand  Papers  in  his  charge  as  Public  Archivist.  The  extent 
of  the  obligation  I  am  under  to  him  for  this  courtesy  can  be  best 
understood  by  observing  the  number  of  citations  from  these  Pa- 
pers which  hereafter  occur. 

Consul  Willshire  Butterpield. 

Omaha,  March,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE. 

Simon  Girty,  Sr.,  emigrates  from  Ireland  to  Pennsylvania 1 

Marries  Miss  Mary  Newton 1 

Death  of  Girty 5 

John  Turner,  Sr.,  marries  Mrs.  Girty 5 

The  Turner  family  made  prisoners  by  Indians 8 

CHAPTER  11. 

Turner's  awful  death  by  torture 11 

Thomas  Girty  rescued  at  Kittanning 13 

Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty  adopted  by  the  savages 15 

The  Girty  family,  in  1759,  brought  into  Pittsburgh... 16 

CHAPTER  III. 

Employment  in   Pittsburgh   of  Simon,   James,   and  George 

Girty 19 

Thomas  Girty,  before  176S,  settles  at  Pittsburgh 22 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Boundary  troubles  between  Pen.nsylvania  and  Virginia 23 

Simon  Girty  sides  with  Virginia 24 

Lord  Dunmore's  War 25 

Girty  translates  Logan's  "speech'.' 29 

Boundary  troubles  renewed  in  the  West 30 

Girty  commissioned  second  lieutenant  by  Virginia 31 

CHAPTER  V. 

Backwoodsmen,  in  1775,  enthusiastic  for  liberty 34 

Simon  Girty  goes  as  guide  for  James  Wood 35 

John  Neville,  for  Virginia,  takes  possession  of  Ft.  Pitt 36 

Girty  appointed  interpreter  for  the  Six  Nations 37 

Savages  begin  hostilities  on  the  Western  border 40 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Simon  Girty  made  second  lieutenant  by  the  patriots 41 

Lieut.-Gov.  Henry  Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  excites  the  Indians...  41 

Brig. -Gen.  Edward  Hand  takes  command  at  Fort  Pitt 42 

Alexander  McKee,  at  Pittsburgh,  distrusted  by  the  Whigs 43 

Girty  arrested  as  disloyal,  but  acquitted 45 

Thomas  Girty's  early  career  at  Pittsburgh 46 

CHAPTER  VII. 

George  Girty  enlists  with  Capt.  James  Willing 47 

(V) 


vi  Contents. 


Gen.  Hand  goes  upon  a  "  Squaw  Campnigii " 48 

MoKoe  spcretly  preiiares  to  desert  to  the  British 49 

James  Girty  goes  to  the  Shawanese  for  the  Americana 49 

McKee,  Matthew  Elliott,  Simon  Girty,  and  others,  start  for 

Detroit 50 

.    The  reason  why  Simon  Girty  fJeserted  his  country •'52 

Mistakes  and  erroneous  traditions  as  to  Girty 64 

lie  had  no  landed  property  in  Pennsylvania 55 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Delaware  Indians  excited  by  tlie  wiles  of  McKee  and 

Simon  Girty 58 

McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty  go  to  the  Shawanese  towns 60 

The  three,  with  others,  depart  for  Detroit 61 

Received  with  open  arms  by  Hamilton 62 

Simon  Girty  employed  as  interpreter  in  the  Indian  Depart- 
ment    63 

James  Girty,  having  deserted  his  trust,  also  goeb       ^^troit 64 

Hamilton's  barbarous  policy  against  the  Americans.      65 

McKee,  Elliott,  Simon   and  James  Girty  attainted  of  high 

treason  66 

Hamilton  vainly  endeavors  to  arm  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians...  67 

Simon  Girty  given  no  military  office 68 

Hamilton  takes  delight  in  the  sufferings  of  American  prison- 
ers   69 

CHAPTER  IX. 

George  Rogers  Clark  sends  spies  to  the  Illinois 71 

Capture,  by  Indians,  cf  Daniel  Boone  and  others 72 

Clark's  conquest  of  the  Illinois  and  ^abash  towns 72 

Simon  Girty  and  his  brother  James  sent  to  the  Ohio  wilder- 
ness   73 

Simon  goes  among  the  Mingoes;  James,  among  the  Shawanese..  73 

With  warriors,  they  raid  into  the  American  settlements 74 

Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  disregards  his  orders 75 

Capture  of  Simon  Kenton  by  the  Shawanese 76 

His  life  saved  by  Girty 78 

CHAPTER  X. 

Hamilton  seeks  to  recover  the  Illinois 86 

Major  A.  S.  Peyster,  at  Michilimackinac,  aids  him 86 

Brig-Gen.  Lachlan  Mcintosh  takes  command  at  Fort  Pitt 87 

Mcintosh  builds  Forts  Mcintosh  ard  Laurens 88 

Simon  Girty  ambuscades  a  detachment  at  Fort  Laurens 89 

Hamilton  captured  by  Clark  at  Vincennes 90 

Girty  becomes  bitterly  hostile  toward  Americans 91 


ContenU.  vii 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Cnpt.  Henry  Biivl  goes  with  Indians  against  Fort  Laurens 93 

He  bosiegos  tiie  tort 94 

Failure  of  Bird  to  cai)turi' the  post 95 

Delaware  Indians  try  to  take  Simon  CSirly's  scalp 95 

Col.  Daniel  Brodhead  takes  command  at  Fort  Pitt 95 

Col.  John  Bowman  marciies  troin  Ky.  against  Chillicothe 96 

Bird  plans  another  expedition  against  Fort  Laurens 96 

Its  failure 97 

Simon  Girty  goes  after  a  jmekage  of  loyalists'  letters 97 

Why  his  name  became  a  household  word  of  terror  on  the 

border 98 

He  accidentally  meets  David  Zeisberger,  the  Moravian  mis- 
sionary   98 

The  Moravian  fiction  as  to  his  meeting  Zeisberger 101 

Girty's  determined  hostility  to  the  borderers 104 

CHAPTER  XII. 

George  Girty  deserts  his  company  a!id  goes  to  Detroit 105 

Engaged  by  the  British  commandant  as  interpreter 108 

He  is  paid  the  same  as  his  brothers  Simon  and  James 108 

Simon  Girty's  intention  again   to  go  against   Fort   Laurens 

abandoned 109 

James  Girty  is  to  reconnoiter  "toward  the  Weas" 109 

David  Rogers,  with  supplies  for  the  Americans,  attacked 110 

He  and  his  force  defeated  by  Simon  and  George  Girty  and 

Elliott 110 

Major  De  Peyster  takes  command  at  Detroit Ill 

Clark's  success  at  the  Illinois  and  on  the  Wabash  causes  dis- 
affection among  the  Indians Ill 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Catharine  Malotl  (afterward  Simon  Girty's  wife)  captured  by 

Indians 116 

The  three  Girtys  at  Detroit  in  the  spring  of  1780 117 

Lieut.-Gov.  Patrick  Sinclair  organizes  a  raid  against  St.  Louis..  117 

The  expedition  virtually  a  failure 118 

De  Peyster  assembles  at  Detroit  whites  and  Indians  to  assail 

Kentucky 118 

Capt.  Bird  takes  command 118 

The  three  Girtys — Simon,  James,  and  George — go  on  the  ex- 
pedition   118 

Ca|:)ture  of  Ruddle's  and  Martin's  Stations 119 

Clark,  in  retaliatiim,  marches  from  Ky.  against  Chillicothe 

and  Piqua 121 

George  and  James  Girty  help  defend  Piqua 121 


viii  Contents. 


CH AFTER  XIV. 

Thomas  (liity  still  resitles  at  PittHburgh 124 

Deliiwiiro  Indians  become  hostile  to  the  Americans 125 

•Simon  Girty  brings  in  prisoners  from  Kentucky 126 

Col,  Brodhnad  goes  on  a  successful  expedit'.on  against  Coshoc- 
ton   126 

Simon  flirty  saves  young  Henry  Baker's  life 127 

He  (flirty)  writes  De  Peyster  from  Upper  Sandusky 128 

Clark  plans  an  expedition  against  Detroit 129 

Capt.  Andrew  Thompson  marches  to  interpose  a  barrier  to 

his  advance 129 

Col.  Archibal  I  Lochry  defeated  by  Brant  and  Geo.  flirty 129 

Capt.  Brant  and  Simon  dirty  have  a  personal  encounter 130 

Brant  and  McKee  at  the  Long  Uun  massacre 131 

Fort  Henry  (Wheeling)  visited  by  savages 132 

Moravian  missionary  establislimentson  the  Tuscarawas  bioken 

up 133 

Andrew  and  Adam  Poe,  and  others,  attack  seven  Wyandots 

successfully 133 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Simon  flirty  associates  intimately  with  the  Half  King 136 

Aids  that  chief  in  getting  the  "Moravians"  from  the  Sandusky.  137 

Goes  on  a  raid  into  the  border  settlements 141 

Returns  with  John  Stevenson  as  prisoner 141 

De  Peyster  writes  Girty  to  take  the  missionnries  to  Detroit 143 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Zeisberger  and  Ileckewelder  frightened  by  Girty 147 

The  two  missionaries  go  to  Detroit 149 

Thomas  Edgerton  condemned  to  be  tortured,  but  saved ISO 

Girty  speaks  kindly  to  young  Christian  F'a^t 152 

Thomas  Girty  petitions  Brig.-Gen.  Irvine 153 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Col.  David  Williamson  conducts  an  expedition  to  the  Tus- 
carawas   155 

Ninety  "  Moravian"  Indians  captured  and  killed 155 

Sensational  stories  of  Simon  Girty  related 158 

Girty  writes  De  Peyster  from  Upper  Sandusky 159 

A  volunteer  force  organized  against  the  Wyandots 161 

Command  given  to  Col.  William  Crawford 161 

The  Wyandots  prepare  to  defend  themselves 162 

Preparations  by  De  Peyster  to  meet  the  danger 163 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Crawford  attacks  the  enemy  on  the  Sandusky  Plains 167 


Contents.  ix 


The  Ameiionns  retroat  from  the  Samiusky 169 

Another  battle  fought 171 

Crawford  and  Dr.  Knight  cai)lured  hy  the  Deluwn  es 172 

The  Colonel  meets  Simon  Oirty  at  the  Half  King's  town 172 

Oirty  makes  no  etlort  to  save  Crawford  from  torture 174 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Oirty  again  meets  T'rawford 177 

The  Colonel  lied  to  i>,  Htnke  by  the  Delaware^ 178 

Jle  is  cruelly  tortured 180 

Oirty  delighted  at  the  horrid  spectacle 180 

Crawford's  awful  suffering 181 

Death  finally  ends  bis  misery 183 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Oirty  informs  Capt.  Wm.  Caldwell  of  Crawford's  death 183 

Does  not  claim  to  have  interceded  for  him 183 

Oeorge  Oirty  now  liviinf  with  the  Delawares 184 

•John  Slover  captured 184 

Bndly  treated  at  Wapalomica  by  James  (iirty 185 

Cursed  by  Oeorge  Oirty 186 

Sentenced  to  be  tortured,  but  escapes 186 

"  Dead  men  tell  no  tales  " 187 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Oreat  Indian  council  held  at  Waputomica 190 

Capt.  Caldwell  goes  there  from  Lower  Sandusky 192 

Marches  against  Fort  Henry,  but  returns  before  reaching  the 

!  fort ." 192 

Capt.  Andrew  Bradt  sent  to  reinforce  him 192 

Clark  supposed  to  be  on  the  march  for  the  Siiavvaiie.se  towns..  19.3 

A  large  Indian  force  near  Piqua  assembles  to  meet  him 193 

The  report  of  ('lark's  coming  a  false  one 194 

The  Indians  disperse 194 

Caldwell,  with  Rangers  and  Indians,  crosses  into  Ky 194 

Bryan's  Station  attacked 194 

A  fiction  as  to  Simon  Oirty  demaniiing  a  surrender 196 

The  enemy  fail  to  reduce  the  Station  (Bryan's) 197 

Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks 198 

Oirty  had  no  command  in  the  battle 199 

The  victors  return  across  the  Ohio 200 

Capt.  Bradt  assails  Fort  Henry 201 

Clark  destroys  a  Shawanese  town  on  the  Oreat  Miami 201 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

News  of  peace  with  Oreat  Britain  reaches  the  West 210 

Capture  by  Simon  Girty  of  young  Burkhart 210 


Contents. 


A  fiction  as  to  Samuel  Brady 211 

Giity  recalled  from  the  Ohio  wilderness 211 

De  Peyster  informs  the  Indians  that  peace  is  made 213 

Girty  visited   by  his  brother  Thomas   and   half-brother,  Jolin 

Turner 213 

Sir  John  Johnson  couns^els  the  Indians  not  to  yield  their 

hinds • 214 

Girty  marries  Miss  Catharine  Malott 215 

They  locate  in  Canada,  on  the  Detroit  river 216 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Col.  Josiah  Ilarmar  commands  the  First  American  Regiment..  220 

A  treaty  with  the  Western  Indians  held  at  Fort  Mcintosh 221 

Simon  Girty  directed  wholly  by  Alex.  McKee 222 

Girty  and  others  inflame  the  savages  against  the  Americans...  223 

Another  treaty  held — this  time  at  "  Fort  Finney  " 225 

The  Western    savages,   owing   to    British   emissaries,  getting 

hostile 226 

Col.  Harmar  ordered  to  protect  the  border 227 

Girty  and  McKee  go  to  Niagara  to  an  Indian  council 227 

Capt.  Joseph  Brant  urges  the  Indians  to  unite 228 

The  savages  determined  to  oppose  Western  settlements 229 

A  fiction  regarding  James  Girty  being  on  the  Ohio 229 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Capture  of  James  Moore  by  the  Indians 233 

Mary  Moore,  his  sister,  afterward  taken  prisoner 235 

She  is  purchased  of  the  Indians  by  a  loyalist 235 

Simon  Girty  and  McKee  aid  her  in  getting  released 237 

Thomas  Girty  sent  as  a  messenger  to  the  Indians 238 

Simon  Girty  is  very  active  withthe  Ohio  savages 239 

He  has  great  influence  among  the  Indians 240 

A  Mrs.  Thomas  Cunningham  captured  by  the  savages 240 

Girty  and  McKee  get  her  ransomed 241 

Portents  of  an  Indian  War  in  the  West 241 

A  treaty  in  1789  held  at  Fort  Ilarmar.  242 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Simon  Girty  is  not  very  active  in  1789 244 

He  is  again  visited  by  his  half-brother,  John  Turner 245 

Hostility  of  the  Wabash  and  Miami  Indians 245 

An  unsuccessful  expedition  led  by  Gen.  Harmar  against  the 

Mianiis 246 

Maj.  Flamtramck  lays  waste  Wabash  towns 247 

The  Western  savages  determine  upoji  war 248 

A  fiction  ns  to  Simon  Girty  attacking  Baker's  Station 249 

John  Dunlap  forms  a  hettiement  on  the  Great  Miami 249 


Contents.  xi 


Girty  leads  an  Indian  force  against  Dunlap's  Station  251 

Shocking  torture  of  Abner  Hunt 252 

The  siege  of  Dunlap's  Station  raised 254 

The  U.  S.  endeavor  to  treat  with  the  hostile  savages 256 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"Moravian"  Indians  paid  in  rum,  by  Simon  Girty,  for  labor...  259 

Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair  marches  against  the  Miami  towns 260 

St.  Clair's  army  defeated 262 

Girty  tights  bravely  in  the  battle 263 

He  recognizes  Gen.  Richard  Butler  on  the  battle-field 263 

He  captures  a  white  woman 264 

Girty  and  a  party  of  Indians  attack  Fort  Jefferson 265 

A  grand  council  of  Indians  to  be  held  at  "The  Glaize" 266 

Young  Spencer  captured 267 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Simon  Girty  the  only  white  man  in  the  "Grand  Council" 274 

An  armistice  determined  upon  by  the  Indians 274 

The  U.  S.  attempt  to  treat  with  the  savages 275 

Commissioners  reach  the  Detroit  river 276 

Negotiations  with  the  savages  fail 278 

Gen.  Wayne  immediately  moves  toward  the  Maumee 278 

Quakers  hold  a  meeting  at  Simon  Girty's  home 279 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Simon  Girty  is  very  active  as  interpreter 281 

He  is  seen  by  Jacob  Lewis  in  Detroit 281 

Savages  under  Little  Turtle  attack  Fort  Recovery 283 

The  enemy  repulsed 283 

Girty  fights  bravely  in  the  attack 283 

Battle  of  the  "  Fallen  Timber" 285 

Wayne's  victory  complete 286 

A  vain  attempt  by  the  British  to  induce  the  savages  to  con- 
tinue the  war ,....  287 

Proposals  for  peace  made  by  the  Indians  to  Wayne 288 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

James  Girty  marries  Betsy,  a  Shawanese  women 289 

Locates  as  a  trader  at  St.  Mary's 289 

Removes  to  the  "Grand  Glaize" 290 

Young  Spencer  is  frightened  by  him .*  292 

Girty,  with  his  family,  in  1794,  removes  to  Canada 292 

George  Girty  gives  himself  up  wholly  to  an  Indian  life 293 

Meets  young  John  Brickell 293 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Simon  Qirty,  McKee,  and  Brant  endeavor  to  prevent  peace....  296 


xii  Contents. 


John  Jay  concludes  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain 297 

The  U.  S.  and  the  Western  Indians  treat  at  Greenville 298 

The  Indian  War  ended 298 

Possession  obtained  of  the  Western  posts 299 

The  treaty  of  Greenville  a  "bitter  pill"  for  Simon  Girty  and 

McKee 300 

Girty  swims  his  horse  across  the  Detroit  river 3U0 

Girty's  banter  to  an  Indian 301 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Girty,  at  his  home,  continues  as  interpreter  for  Britain 304 

Sketch  of  Prideaux,  Simon's  last  child 304 

Simon  gets  a  grant  of  land  from  the  Crown 305 

He  separates  from  his  wife 306 

Marriage  of  his  three  eldest  children 307 

Deeds  half  his  land  to  bis  son  Thomas 307 

Went  to  Detroit  when  it  capitulated  to  the  British 308 

He  goes  to  the  Mohawks  to  be  out  of  danger 309 

The  property  of  Matthew  Elliott  destroyed  by  the  Americans..  310 

CHA PTER  XXXII.  • 

Death  of  Thomas,  son  of  Simon  Girty 315 

George  Girty  marries  and  dies  among  the  Delawares 315 

James  Girty  returns  to  the  Maumee  to  trade 316 

Granted  land  in  Gosfield,  Essex  county,  Canada 316 

Death  of  his  wife 316 

Gives  up  his  business  on  the  Maumee 317 

Dies  in  Gostield,  on  his  farm,  in  1817 318 

His  character 318 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Simon  Girty  retufns  home  totally  blind 320 

His  wife  lives  with  him  again 321 

His  death  and  burial 322 

His  personal  appearance  described 323 

His  ill-will  toward  the  Americans 324 

His  general  character 324 

He  was  never  a  vagabond 327 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Thomas  Girty  moves  from  Pittsburgh 331 

Dies  on  "Girty's  Run,"  across  the  Alleghany 331 

He  was  never  an  "  Indian  hunter" 332 

Death  of  John  Turner  at  "  Squirrel  Hill" 332 

Bequests  in  bis  will 333 

Turner  described  in  the  Pittsburgh  Daily  Gazette 333 

Death  of  Mrs.  Catharine  Malott  Girty 333 


Contents.  xiii 


APPENDIX. 

A — First  published  account  of  the  Girtys 335 

B — Record  of  the  baptism  of  John  Turner  (translation) 337 

C — Mention  of  Georjie  Girty  as  a  trader 337 

D — Fictitious  account  of  Simon  Girty  joining  the  Indians  in 

1774 339 

F — Oaths  taken  by  Simon  Girty  when  commissioned  second 

lieutenant  under  Major  John  (Connolly 341 

F — "  Letting  loose  the  horrible  hell-hounds  of  savage  war."...  342 
G — Simon  Girty  and  the  siege  of  Fort  Henry,  Wheeling,  in 

1777 344 

H — Simon  Girty's  visit  to  the  Seneca  towns  up  the  Alleghany, 

in  the  fall  of  1777 346 

I — The  reason  why  General  Hand  gave  up  his  intended  expe- 
dition to  French  creek,  in  the  spring  of  1778 .-,48 

J — Concerning  certain  orders  said  to  have  been  given  by  Gen. 

Haldimand  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Henry  Hamilton  while 

at  Detroit 348 

K — Kenton  and  the  Mingo  Logan 350 

L — Lochry's  defeat 351 

M — Why  the  Moravian  missionary  establishments  on  theTus- 

carawas  were  broken  up 353 

N — Simon  Girty  and  Colonel  Crawford  on  the  Sandusky 355 

*       O — A  Rotitious  account  of  Simon  Girty  attitudinizing  as  an 

orator 372 

P — Concerning  the  Blue  Licks  campaign 373 

Q — The  Haldimand  Manuscripts 377 

R — George  Girty  to  Captain  Alexander  McKee 382 

S — Examination  of  John  Leith 382 

T — McKee  the  principal  stimulator  of  the  war  of  1790-95 385 

U — Governor  Simcoe,  of  Canada,  prevents  peace  in  1794 386 

V — Simon  Girty  and  the  Scotch-Irish  of  Western  Virginia 387 

W— Deed  of  Simon  Girty  to  his  son  Thomas 389 

X — General  Harrison  in  Canada  in  1813 390 

Y— Letters  of  William  Charles  Mickle 392 

Z — Published  estimates  of  Simon  Girty 394 

AA— James  Girty's  will 397 

BB— John  Turner's  will 399 

CC — Simon  Girty  and  boy  prisoners 401 

DD— "Simon  Girty"  in  a  Cyclopoedia 403 

EE — Illustrative  notes,  al.xo  extracts  from  printed  accounts, 

concerning  the  Girtys .' 405 


HISTORY  OF  THE  GIRTYS. 


CIIAPTEK  I. 


On  the  Susquehanna  river,  there  Hved,  in  the  second  quar- 
ter of  the  eighteenth  century,  upon  the  soil  of  what  was  then 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  an  Irishman,  whose  name 
was  Simon  Girty  —  sometimes  written,  in  early  accounts, 
"Girte;"  sometimes,  "  Girtee  ;  "  and  frequently,  "  Gerty." 
At  least  one  writer  has  declared,  though  erroneously,  that  the 
word  is  a  corruption  of  "  Guthrie."  * 

Girty  emigrated  from  the  Emei'ald  Isle  at  middle  age,  en- 
gaging, soon  after  his  arrival  in  America,  and  in  the  province 
just  named,  in  the  Indian  trade,  in  the  employment  of  pack- 
horse  driver.  Subsequently,  after  he  had  saved  enough  of  his 
earnings  to  go  into  business  for  himself  in  trafficking  with  the 
Indians,  he  married  Mary  Newton,  an  English  girl.-i-  Of  pre- 
vious events  in  her  life,  nothing  whatever  is  known.  Girty 
was  married  about  the  year  1737.  His  first  child,  named 
Thomas,  was  born  in  1739.|  The  birth  of  a  second  child, 
called  Simon    after  the  father,  was  in  1741. §     A  third  son — 

*  Chftrles  Cist,  in  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  Vol,  I,  p.  126. 

T  Registres  des  Baptesmes  et  Sepultares  qui  se  sont  faits  au  Fort  Du- 
quesne.  Pendant  les  annces  1763,  1754,  1765,  and  1766.  New  York,  1859. 
pp.  43,  44. 

The  writer  of  this  narrative,  by  putting  reliance  upon  an  erroneous  tra- 
ditionary account,  states,  in  a  letter  published  some  years  since,  that  the 
maiden  name  of  Mrs.  Girty  was  Crosby.  See  History  of  Clark  County, 
Ohio,  pp.  377,  378. 

t  In  Niles's  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  262,  the  year  1731  is  incor- 
rectly given  as  the  date  of  Thomas  Girty's  birth. 

§  It  is  declared  by  John  MacLeod,  in  the  Amherstburg  (Canada)  Echg, 
of  November  21,  1884  (Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  VII,  p.  123; 

1  (1) 


IIutor<i  of  the  Girtys. 


James — was  born  in  1743.  The  birth  of  George,  the  fourth 
child,  was  in  1745.     There  were  no  daughters.* 

It  is  certain  that  the  home  of  the  Girty  family,  it  least 
from  the  date  of  the  birth  of  their  first  child,  was  at  Cham- 
bers's Mill,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  above  Har- 
ris's— that  is,  above  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Ilarris- 
burg — then  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  in  that  portion  which 
has  since  been  formed  into  Dauphin  county.  The  place  was 
familiarly  known,  at  that  period,  as  "  Chambers's,  in  Pax- 
tang." 

Five  miles  above  Harrisburg,  there  empties  into  the  Sus- 
quehanna, on  the  eastern  side,  a  small  stream,  called  Fish- 
ing creek.  At  the  mouth,  or,  rather,  several  hundred  yards 
from  it,  at  an  early  day,  at  least  prior  to  1730,  several 
brothers  of  the  name  of  Chambers  erected  a  mill,  hence, 
the  name  of  the  place — "  Chambers's  Mill."  It  was  this 
family  of  Chambers  that  settled  Chambersburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1736.  During  the  French  and  Indian  war,  a  fort, 
or  stockade,  was  built  at  Chambers's  Mill,  named  "  Fort 
Hunter."  This  was  subsequently  called  "  McAllister's  ;  "  it 
is  yet  known  as  "  Fort  Hunter.",!  Chambers's  Mill  was  a  set- 
tlement not  famous  for  its  morality.  Indeed,  it  had  few,  if 
any,  rivals,  for  its  wickedness,  in  the  province. J 

Of  those  who  lived  at  Chambers's  and  in  its  vicinity,  em- 
ployed, as  was  Simon  Girty,  Sr.,  in  the  Indian  trade,  the 
names  of  several  have  been  preserved,  some  of  Avhom  were 
then  (^and  others  afterward  became)  noted  in  their  calling  ;  but, 
in  that  class,  "  Girtee,"  of  "  Paxtang,"  can  not  be  reckoned. 

Of  Indian  traders,  licensed  fronx  the  10th  of  August,  1747,  to 

, _» 

Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  266),  that  Simon  Girty,  Jr., 
was  born  in  1744;  but  this  is  error. 

*  There  is  a  tradition  afloat  in  Essex  county,  Canada,  which  I  have  met 
with,  to  the  effect  that  the  Girty  boys  above  mentioned  had  a  sister;  but  this 
is  clearly  erroneous. 

-j-  Compare  Rupp's  History  of  Dauphin,  Cumberland,  Franklin,  Bedford, 
Adams,  and  Perry  Counties  (Pa.),  pp.  69,  80;  also,  Egle's  History  of  Dau- 
phin County,  pp.  60,  51. 

%  Consult,  in  this  connection.  An  Account  of  the  Life  of  the  Late  Rev- 
erend Mr.  David  Brainerd.     Boston,  1749.    p.  200. 


Hiatory  of  the  Girtys.  3 


the  same  day  of  the  next  year,  the  list  is  extant ;  also,  of  those 
not  licensed ;  among  the  latter  is  found  the  name  of  Girty.* 
However,  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  fell  into  the  clutches 
of  the  law  for  his  dereliction ;  as,  on  the  10th  of  August, 
1748,  he  received  the  proper  authority  to  traffic  with  the  sav- 
ages ;  when,  it  is  probable,  the  amount  of  license  for  the  year 
previous  was  paid. 

The  home  of  Girty,  at  this  time,  was  on  the  confines  of 
civilization  ;  nevertheless,  the  "  course  of  empire  '*'  was  ''  west- 
ward," across  the  Susquehanna — "beyond  the  Endless  mount- 
ains, on  Juniata,  on  Sherman's  creek,  and  elsewhere,"  to  the 
great  uneasiness  of  the  Indians,  vor  more  than  thirty  families 
of  white  people,  in  the  spring  ol'  1741',  had  settled  on  their 
lands. t 

The  number  of  adventurers  increased,  and  the  Indians  be- 
came thoroughly  alarmed.  They  demanded  their  removal. 
Pennsylvania  could  not  do  otherwise  than  to  comply  with  the 
wishes  of  the  savages ;  but  it  was  resolved  to  try  peaceable 
measures — warnings  to  the  interlopers — and,  if  these  failed, 
force  would  be  employed.  So  the  sheriff  of  Lancaster  county, 
and  three  magistrates,  with  a  government  agent,  were  sent  to 
the  Trans-Susquehanna  settlements  to  warn  the  people  to  leave 
immediately.  Little  heed  was  given  to  their  words.  Not 
only  were  there  no  returns  to  the  east  bank,  but  settlers  con- 
tinued to  arrive.  Among  these,  in  1749,  was  Simon  Girty, 
Sr.,  and  family,  from  Chambers's.  He  settled  on  Sherman's 
creek,  in  what  is  now  Perry  county.  But  his  career  as  a  far- 
mer was  suddenly  cut  short. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  1750,  eight  provincials,  good  and  true 
men,  appointed  by  the  government,  and  accompanied  by  an 
under-sheriff  of  the  county  (Cumberland),  proceeded  "  by 
force  of  arms,"  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  Indians.  The 
first  settlement  reached  contained  five  log  cabins.  The  occu- 
pants   were   taken   into    custody,    and    the    houses    burned. 

*  For  the  entire  list  of  "Indiiin  Traders  Lycensed"  and  "  Unlyoensed," 
see  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  II,  p.  14. 
t  Pennsylvania  Archive!',  Old  Series,  Vol.  II,  p. 24. 


Hutory  of  the  Qirfys. 


Thence,  the  valorous  nine  proceeded  to  Sherman's  creek, 
where  they  found,  besidoa  Girty,  nine  other  trespassers.  The 
ten  were  taken  also  into  custody.  It  was  found  that  each  had 
settled  upon  a  separate  tract  of  land,  and  erected  a  cabin 
thereon.  The  houses,  like  those  in  the  first  settlement  vis- 
ited, were  burned  to  the  ground.  Each  settler  was  bound  in 
a  recognizance  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  appear  and  answer 
for  his  trespass  on  the  first  day  of  the  next  county  court, 
which  was  to  be  held  at  Shippensburg.*  In  view  of  all  the 
circumstances,  this  violation  of  the  law  on  the  part  of  Girty 
and  the  others  can  not  be  set  down  greatly  to  their  discredit. 
The  former  returned  to  Chambers's.  It  was  the  last  of  his 
farming  oj    rations. 

Girty  was  not  free  from  the  vice,  which  every-where  pre- 
vailed upon  the  border,  of  drinking  too  much.  It  is  a  tradi- 
tion, long  since  hardened  into  print,  and  many  times  repeated, 
that  he  was  "beastly  intemperate;"  that  a  "jug  of  whisky 
was  the  extent  of  his  ambition ;"  and  that  "  grog  was  his 
song,  and  grog  would  he  have."  This,  however,  is  overdrawn. 
He  would  have  his  sprees,  bui  he  was  not  an  habitual  drunk- 
ard, although,  after  his  return  with  his  family  to  Chambers's, 
an  end  was  put  to  his  existence,  remotely,  by  his  indulgence. 
Concerning  his  final  "  taking  off,"  the  same  tradition  is  also 
at  fault.  It  is  asserted  that  "  his  hours  were  wasted  in  idle- 
ness and  intemperance,  and  he  was  finally  knocked  on  the 
head  by  a  neighboring  boor,  who  bore  off  Mrs.  Girty  as  a  tro- 
phy of  his  prowess."  f  Another  published  statement  is,  that 
he  had  a  difficulty  with  a  neighbor.  Girty  challenged  him. 
They  met ;  rifles  were  used  ;  but  both  missed.     They  were  then 

*  Rupp's  History  of  Dauphin,  Cumberland,  Franklin,  Bedford,  Adams, 
and  Perry  Counties  (Pa.),  p.  655. 

t  This  tradition  was  first  given  to  the  publi(3  in  the  Missouri  Gazette,  of 
May  7,  1814;  then  in  "  The  Girtys,"  in  John  W.  Campbell's  Biographical 
Sketches  (Columbus,  Ohio,  1838),  p.  147.  From  the  latter  it  has  been  fre- 
quently copied.  Campbell  drew  for  his  article  wholly  from  the  Gazette. 
In  the  supplement  to  Vol.  IX,  of  Niles's  Weekly  Register,  p.  181,  the  Ga- 
zette article  is  given  verbatim,  but  with  credit. 


History  of  the  Oirtys. 


furnished  with  swords  by  their  seconds  and  Girty  fell  mortiiUy 
wounded — run  through  his  body  by  the  weapon  of  his  antag- 
onist. 

So  much  for  traditionary  accounts.  The  following  are  the 
facts :  He  was  killed,  in  a  drunken  frolic,  by  an  In<lian 
named  "  The  Fish,"  at  his  home,  about  the  ending  of  the  year 
1751.-'^  While,  therefore,  he  received  liis  death- wound  at  the 
hand  of  a  savage,  it  can  not  be  said,  as  some  accounts  have  it, 
that  he  was  "  killed  by  the  Indians  '' — the  inference  being  that 
he  was  the  victim  of  a  war-party,  marauding  in  the  white  set- 
tlements.! 

The  killing  of  Girty  was  a  deed  which  must  needs  be 
avenged,  and  the  avenger  was  at  hand.  Ilis  name  was  John 
Turner.  He  lived  with  Girty.  To  make  things  equal,  he  put 
an  end  to  the  existence  of  "  The  Fi.^h  " — the  murderer  of  his 
friend.  So,  in  the  backwoods,  justice  was  satisfied.  It  was 
the  law  of — an  eye  for  an  eye ;  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ;  a  life  for 
a  life.  But  Turner  must  have  his  reward;  and  he  married, 
in  Paxtang,  early  in  1753,  Mrs.  Girty,  the  widow,  a  woman  of 
unblemished  character.  At  the  commencement  of  1754,  a 
son  was  born  of  this  union,  who  was  named  John, J  after  his 
father. 

About  six  months  subsequent  to  this  event,  the  lands  in 
Sherman's  Valley,  and  on  the  Juniata,  besides  much  other, 
were  purchased,  by  the  Penns,  of  the  Indians,  and  a  land  of- 
fice opened  for  their  sale,  on  the  3d  of  Februaay,  1755.  § 

Immigration  quickly  began  to  make  rapid  strides  into  the 

*Seo,  as  to  the  name  of  the  Indian  who  killed  Girty,  Magazine  of  Amer- 
ican History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  257.  It  is  erroneously  asserted  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt  (The  "Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  I,  p.  96),  that  Girty  was  tort- 
ured at  the  stake — tomahawked,  finally,  by  a  papoose  held  up  by  its  father 
for  that  purpose. 

t  See  Sparks's  Library  of  American  Biograpliy,  Second  Series,  Vol.  XIII 
(Peck's  Life  of  Boone),  p.  109,  note. 

X  llegistres  des  Baptosmes  et  Sepultures  qui  se  sont  faits  au  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  loc.  cit. 

g  Wright's  History  of  Perry  County,  Pennsylvania,  pp.  13,  14.  The 
deed  from  the  Indians  was  dated  July  6,  1754. 


6  Hi%lory  of  the  Oirlyn. 


Trans-Susquelmnna  roi^ioii.  Woll  had  it  been  had  the  pioneers 
postponed  their  coming.  Among  those  who  crossed  the  river 
into  Sherman's  Valley  was  John  Turner  and  family.  lie  took 
up  his  residence  near  where  Simon  Girty,  Sr.,  had  previously 
located.* 

There  was  now  open  war  between  France  and  England. 
Braddock's  defeat,  in  July,  IT-");"),  was  a  humiliating  blow  to 
the  power  last  named.  The  savages  of  the  West — allies  of 
the  French — were  soon  murdering  and  burning  in  the  border 
settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia.  In  the 
province  first  mentioned,  these  marauds  were  carried  on  far 
down  the  streams  which,  on  the  west,  enter  the  Susquehanna. 
Forts,  as  they  were  called,  were  erected  in  various  places 
for  the  security  of  the  inhabitants.  Among  these  was  one 
called  Fovt  Granville.  It  was  located  at  Old  Town,  on  the 
bank  of  the  Juniata,  not  a  great  distance  from  the  pres- 
ent sight  of  licwistown,  then  in  Cumberland  county,  now 
Mifliin.     Its  position  was  unfavorable. 

Alreiidy  had  more  than  a  score  of  persons  been  killed  or 
carried  off  by  the  Indians.  "  Thereupon,"  so  runs  the  rec- 
ord, "  on  the  23d  of  October,  1755,  forty-six  of  the  inhab- 
itants on  Susquehanna,  about  Harris'  Ferry,  went  to  Shamo- 
kin  [the  Forks  of  the  Susquehanna],  to  inquire  of  the  Indians 
there  who  they  were  that  had  so  cruelly  fallen  upon  and  ruined 
the  settlement."  The  result  of  this  mission  of  inquiry  was 
most  disastrous.  On  their  return  from  Shamokin,  they  were 
fired  upon  by  some  Indians  who  lay  in  ambush,  and  four  were 
shot,  four  drowned,  and  the  rest  put  to  flight. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  object  in  view  in  this  narrative, 
t »  enter  into  particulars  concerning  the  devastation  upon  the 
frontiers  which  followed.  Our  story,  for  the  present,  must 
center  at  one  point,  and  that  point  Fort  Granville. 

Sometime  during  the  month  of  July,  1756,  a  party  was 
made  up  at  Fort  Duquesne,  "  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,"  where 

*  Not  "oil  the  Juniata,"  us  stated   in    the  Magazine  of  American  His- 
tory, Vol.  XV,  p.  257. 


UiMury  of  the.   Uirtyn, 


now  stands  IMttsburgli,  consisting  of  twenty-thrftc  Fronchinen, 
iind  thirty  Indians,  nndor  tho  command  of  Noyon  do  Villiers, 
for  a  maraud  into  the  hack  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  or  to 
attack  some  of  the  forts  therein.*  De  Villicrs's  band  was  re- 
inforced up  the  Alleghany  hy  nearly  seventy  savages. f  Tho 
Indiatis  were  largely  Delawares,.];  with  some  Shawanese,  and  a 
few  Scnecas.  They  appeared  before  Fort  (Jranvillc,  on  the 
twenty-second  of  the  month,  and  challenged  the  garrison  to 
combat;  but  this  was  declined  by  the  commander,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  weakness  of  his  force.  The  enemy  did  not 
leave  the  vicinity,  but  contented  themselves  with  harrassing 
the  nearest  settlements,  keeping  an  eye,  however,  upon  tlie 
fort;  b\it  this  was  unknown  to  the  commander,  Captain  Ed- 
ward Ward,  who  took  it  for  granted  that  the  assailants  had  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

Captain  Ward's  company  was  made  up  of  enlisted  men  ; 
they  were  all  provincials,  in  the  pay  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
first  in  command  under  '  ''n  was  Lieutenant  Edward  Arm- 
strong ;  the  second,  John  Turner,  the  avenger  of  Simon  Girty, 
Sr.,  who  had  with  him  his  whole  family,  for  their  better  pro- 
tection. Indeed,  Sherman's  Valley  was  wholly  depopulated  ; 
but  grain  had  been  sown  in  the  spring  by  the  settlers,  who 
were  compelled  to  do  their  work  under  guard.  The  harvest 
was  now  ripe — the  fields  were  suffering  for  the  reapers — but 
no  one  dared  to  venture  out  without  a  protector.  Captain 
Ward  determined  to  guard  the  laborers,  and,  on  the  30th  of 
July,  marched  all  his  force,  except  twenty-three,  who  were 
left,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Armstrong,  as  de- 
fenders of  the  fort  if  assailed.  Tho  enemy  were  at  once 
aware  of  this  withdrawal,  and,  the  very  day  of  the  marching 

*  New  York  Colonial  Document?,  Vol.  X,  p.  480.  "^ 

t  The  whole  force  under  De  Villiers  wiis  iibout  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
See  Colonial  Kecords  of  Pennsylvunia,  Vol.  VII,  p.  23'2. 

X  Deposition  of  Thomas  Girty,  in  Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers, 
Vol.  I,  p.  280.  "A  party  of  Delawares,  Shawuneso,  and  French  " — Deposi- 
tion of  Simon  Girty,  in  Jeft'erson  MSS,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  VIII,  in  Depart- 
ment of  State,  Washington. 


8  Ifiufnri/  of  fhr   Girfi/a, 

of  Wartl,  cominoiiccd  a  furious  attack  upon  tlio  fortilioation — 
if  Huch  it  could  bo  callod. 

Having  aNHaultod  the  fort  in  vain  during  the  afternoon  and 
night,  the  enemy  took  to  the  Juniata  crock,  and,  protected  by 
its  bank,  attained  a  deep  ravine,  by  wliicb  they  were  enabled 
to  ajtproach,  without  fear  of  injury,  to  wiliiiii  thirty  or  forty 
feet  of  the  stockade,  whicli  they  succeeded  in  setting  on  fire. 
Througli  a  liole  made  by  the  flames,  tiicy  killed  the  lieutennnt 
and  one  private,  and  wounded  throe  others,  who  were  endeav- 
oring to  put  out  the  fire.  The  enemy  then  ofl'ering  (juartor  to 
the  besieged,  if  they  would  surrender,  Turner  opened  the  gate 
to  thorn.''- 

At  this  time  there  were  inside  the  stockade  the  enlisted  men, 
besides  a  number  of  women  and  children,  including  Turner's 
family.  One  of  the  soldiers,  named  IJrandon,  was  toma- 
hawked, and  one,  Peter  Walker,  afterward  escaped.  The  loss 
of  the  eneniy  in  killed  was  more  than  that  of  the  besieged. 

Colonel  John  Armstrong  wrote,  on  the  20th  of  August,  that 
"McDowell  [an  interpreter  with  the  French]  told  Walker  [the 
prisoner  who  afterward  escaped]  they  had  two  Indians  killed 
in  the  engagement ;  but  the  captains,  Armstrong  and  Ward, 
whom  I  ordered,  on  their  march  to  Fort  Shirley,  to  examine 
every  thing  at  Granville,  and  send  a  list  of  what  remained 
among  the  ruins,  assure  me  they  found  some  parts  of  eight  of 
the  enemy,  burnt  in  two  different  places,  the  joints  of  them 
being  scarcely  separated,  and  parts  of  their  shirts  [were] 
found  through  which  there  were  bullet  Iioles ;  to  secrete  these 
from  our  prisoners  [that  is,  '  our  men  made  prisoners ']  was, 
doubtless,  the  reason  why  the  BVench  oflicer  marched  our  peo- 
ple some  distance  from  the  fort  before  he  gave  orders  to  burn 
the  barriicks,  etc."  f 

The  fort  was  burned,  and  the  prisoners — among  whom  were 
Turner,  his  wife  and  children — were  quickly  hurried  into  the 
western  wilderness,  "  loaded  with  burdens." 

In  a  letter  written  by  Colonel  William  Clapham,  from  Fort 

*  Gcrdon's  History  of  PeniiBylviiniH,  p.  C19. 

t  Penniiylvaniu  Culoniul  Uccord,  yol.  VII,  p.  232. 


llimlory  of  the  (Jirti/a.  0 

AiigiiMta,  oil  the  14tli  of  August,  to  the  governor  of  Penn»yl- 
viiniti,  the  statonicnt  is  made,  that  the  writer  had  "received  by 
oxproHH,  the  diHagrcoal)le  news  that  Fort  (Jraiivilio  was  taken 
and  hii'-nt  to  the  grouiul  hy  a  body  of  M)()  French  and  Indians, 
[and]  that  tiie  wlioh*  garrison  had  been  kiUed,  except  one  per- 
son who  was  inucli  wounded  and  made  ids  escape,"  * 

This  report,  as  to  the  number  killed,  was,  as  wo  have  scon, 
erroneous.! 

•  Ponn»ylvHniii  Arohlrw,  Old  8«ric»,  Vol.  II,  p.  144. 
t  Seo  thii  HtHliMnt'iit  o*"  Pi'ter  Walker,  iis  rolutod   by  Cnlotiol  .lohii  Anii- 
gtPorig.     Peniinylviuiiii  Culoiiiiil  Itui'orils,  Vul.  VII,  p.  \l<)'2,  iilrciuly  cited. 


10  History  of  the  Girtys. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Leaving  the  unfortunates  captives  of  Fort  Granville  in  the 
hands  of  the  French  and  Indians,  let  us  follow,  briefly,  the 
current  of  events  in  the  vicinity  of  that  post  for  the  next 
month,  August,  1756.  From  the  fifth  to  the  tenth,  many 
murders  were  committed  in  Cumberland  county.  This  county 
•was  of  great  extent.  It  included  "  all  and  singular  [the] 
lands  lying  within  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  Susquehanna,  and  northward  and  westward  of  the 
county  of  York."  It  is  not  a  matter  of  wonder  that  the 
afi"righted  inhabitants,  in  every  direction,  but  especially  of  the 
Juniata  and  Sherman's  valley,  should  have  deserted  their 
homes.  About  the  twentieth,  on  the  Salisbury  plain,  near 
the  mouth  of  Conococheague  creek,  as  a  number  of  men, 
women,  and  children  were  attending  a  funeral,  they  were  fired 
on  by  about  thirty  Indians ;  fifteen  persons  were  killed  and 
scalped,  and  a  number  of  others  wounded.  All  around, 
throughout  the  month,  Avherever  an  opportunity  offered,  there 
the  wily  savages  were  murdering,  plundering,  and  burning. 
But  the  day  of  retribution  was  at  hand.  It  was  determined 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  Indian  country — to  attack  the  sav- 
ages in  some  one  of  their  villages  beyond  the  mountains. 
How  this  determination  was  carried  out  the  sequel  will  show. 
..  Far  in  the  west,  upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Alleghany  river, 
was  the  Delaware  Indian  village  of  Kittanning,  now  the  site 
of  the  present  town  of  that  name,  county  seat  of  Armstrong 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Down  the  Alleghany,  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Kiskiminetas,  a  trail  struck  its  banks,  coming  from 
Shippensburg  through  the  Indian  village  of  Frank's  Town,  in 
the  present  county  of  Huntingdon.  Another  from  the  same 
place,  "  round  Parnel's  Knob  and  by  Ray's  Town  [now  Bed- 
ford]," reached  the  Alleghany  not  far  above  its  uniting  with 
the  Monongahela  to  form  the  Ohio.     These  routes  were  the 


History  of  the  Girtys.  11 

ones  usually  followed  by  traders  and  others  in  passing  over 
the  mountains,  in  Pennsylvania.  On  the  northern  trail,  some 
distance  beyond  Frank's  Town,  a  branch  trail  led  off  to  Kit- 
tanning.  After  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  all  these 
trails  were  deserted  save  by  war-parties  of  the  enemy  making 
their  way  into  the  exposed  settlements  east  of  the  mountains 
to  plunder  and  destroy. 

The  Indians  who  accompanied  the  French  on  their  expedi- 
tion, which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Granville,  were 
largely  from  Kittanning.  No  sooner,  therefore,  had  the 
stockade  been  burnt,  than  the  enemy  with  their  prisoners  and 
plunder  began  their  march  for  that  village.  Each  captive 
able  to  carry  a  burden  was  loaded  to  the  very  limit  of  his 
strength  and  endurance.  It  is  a  tradition  that  Turner's  share 
was  a  hundred  pounds  of  salt.  Arrived  at  Kittanning  and 
preparations  were  made  by  the  savages  to  torture  at  least  one 
of  their  prisoners.  Turner,  so  runs  the  tradition  (and  it  is 
only  a  tradition),  was  recognized  as  the  one  who  at  Chambers's 
had  put  an  end  to  the  existence  of  The  Fish — the  slayer  of 
Simon  Girty,  Sr.,  and  his  fate  was  sealed.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
it  is  certain  that  he  was  doomed  to  the  stake.  "  They  tied 
him  to  a  black  post ;  danced  around  him  ;  made  a  great  fire  ; 
and,  having  heated  gun -barrels  read  hot,  ran  them  through 
his  body !  Having  tormented  him  for  three  hours,  they 
scalped  him  alive,  and  at  last  held  up  a  boy  with  a  hatchet 
in  his  hand  to  give  him  the  finishing  stroke."  *  Such  was  the 
awful  death  of  John  Turner.  The  miserable  wife  was  com- 
pelled to  witness  the  terrible  sufferings  of  her  husband.  She 
sat  upon  a  log  near  by  with  her  young  oon,  a  beholder  of  the 
dreadful  scene !  The  four  boys — Thomas,  Simon,  James,  and 
George — were  also  horrified  spectators  of  their  step-father's 
agony.f     The  mother  and  her  five  sons  were  now  left  to  the 

•Gordon'8  History  of  Ponnsylvaniii,  p.  619.  It  is  surmised  that  Roose- 
velt has  confounded  Turner  with  Simon  Girty,  Sr.,  and  therefore  applies 
this  method  of  giving  "  the  finishing  stroite"  to  the  latter. 

t  Sparks's  Library  of  American  Biography,  Second  Series,  Vol.  XIII, 
p.  109,  note.  Whether  Sparks  had  any  positive  authority  for  the  assertion, 
is  doubtful.    However,  it  is  probably  true. 


12  History  of  the  Girtys. 

tender  mercies  of  the  sav<ages ;  but  the  wrath  of  the  Indians, 
so  far  as  the  family  was  concerned,  was  spent  upon  the  husband 
and  father;  the  others  were  spared. 

The  family  were  soon  separated.  Mrs.  Turner  and  her 
young  son,  John,  were  chiinied  by  the  Delawares,and  by  them 
taken  down  the  river  to  Fort  Duquesne,  and  there,  doubtl'^ss 
because  of  ''  the  immediate  danger  to  which  the  tender  life  of 
the  child  was  exposed,"  the  boy,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of 
August,  1756,  was  baptized  by  a  RecoUet  priest,  Denys 
Baron — John  Ilannigan  and  Sai'ah  Foissi  standing  for  the 
child  as  god-father  and  god-mother  respectively ;  *  after 
which,  both  mother  and  boy  were  taken  to  the  Avilderness  by 
the  savi^ges.f  Thomas,  Simon,  James,  and  George  were  still 
with  the  Indians  at  Kittanning.  But  the  rescue  of  one  of 
them — only  one — was  nigh  at  hand.  How  this  was  brought 
about  will  now  be  explained. 

After  the  capture  of  Fort  Granville,  it  was  resolved  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Armstrong,  in  command  of  the  provin- 
ciiil  forces  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  to  march  against  Kit- 
tanning,  the  destruction  of  which,  it  was  believed,  would  be  a 
serious  blow  to  the  enemy  ;  give,  perhaps,  temporary  ease  to 
the  suffering  border ;  and,  perchance,  set  at  liberty  a  number 
of  prisoners.  He  started  on  his  expedition  with  about  three 
hundred  men.  This  was  on  the  80th  of  August,  1756.  On 
the  3d  of  September,  he  joined  an  advance  party  near  Frank's 
Town.  On  the  seventh,  in  the  evening,  being  within  six  miles 
of  Kittanning,  the  scouts  discovered  a  fire  in  the  road  and 
reported  that  thero  were  but  three  or  at  most  four  Indiana 
at  it.  This,  as  will  hereafter  be  seen,  was,  to  some,  a  fatal 
mistake.     It  was  not  thought  proper  to   attempt  surprising 

*  "  Re^islres  dos  Babtesrnes  et  Sepultures  qui  se  sont  fiiits  au  Fort  Du- 
quesne," lop.  fit.  See,  also,  Rev.  A.  A.  Lambing's  Register  of  Fort  Du- 
quesne, pp.  79,  06. 

tTbat  Mrs.  Turner  went  with  the  Delawares,  is  made  reasonably  certain 
by  the  relation  of  two  captives,  who  saw  her  at  one  of  their  towns  in  1769. 
See  the  Narrative  of  Marie  le  Roy  and  Kurbara  Leininger,  in  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VII,  p.  4V2,  where  her  name,  by  misprint  or 
inadvertence,  is  given  as  Mary  Taylor  instead  of  Mary  Turner. 


Hulory  of  the  Oirtys.  13 

these  few  Indians  at  that  time,  lest  if  one  should  escape,  the 
town  might  be  alarmed;  so  a  lieutenant  with  twelve  men  was 
left  to  watch  them,  with  orders  not  to  fall  upon  them  till  day- 
break. Armstrong,  thereupon,  with  his  army,  turned  out  of 
the  path  to  pass  by  their  fire  without  disturbing  them. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  'of  the  eighth,  having 
been  guided  by  the  whooping  of  the  savages,  at  a  dance  in 
their  village,  the  provincials  reached  the  river,  one  hundred 
perches  below  the  principal  part  of  the  town,  near  a  corn-field. 
As  soon  as  day  appeared,  .the  attack  began.  The  result  was 
the  destruction,  by  burning,  of  nearly  thirty  houses,  and  the 
killing  of  between  thirty  and  forty  of  the  Indians  ;  besides 
this,  eleven  white  persons,  held  captives  by  the  savages,  were 
rescued  from  their  clutches,  among  whom  was  Thomas,  the 
eldest  of  the  Girty  boys. 

A  tradition,  long  current,  which  finally  found  its  way  into 
print,  was  to  the  efi"ect  that  "  One  of  the  prisoners,  named 
[Thomas]  Girty  returned  [having  eluded  his  captors  after  the 
burning  of  Fort  Granville],  in  a  wounded  condition.  When 
he  escaped,  he  was  followed  by  two  Indians  to  the  head-waters 
of  Blacklick,  where  they  attempted  to  recapture  him  ;  but,  in 
the  fight  that  followed,  he  slew  one  of  the  Indians,  and  the 
other  ran.  He  scalped  the  one  he  killed,  and  took  his  scalp 
to  Aughwick."  *  All  this  would  be  creditable  to  the  bravery 
of  Thomas,  were  it  true ;  but  the  official  report  of  Colonel 
Armstrong  disproves  it,  for,  in  his  list  of  those  who  were  re- 
captured from  the  savages,  is  the  name  of  Thomas,  who,  it  is 
expressly  said,  was  retaken  at  Kittanning.f 

Why  a  number  of  other  prisoners  were  not  rescued,  among 
whom  were  the  three  brothers  of  Thomas  Girty — Simon, 
James,  and  George — is  best  related  in  Armstrong's  own 
words:  "Captain  Hugh  Mercer,  who,  early  in  the  action, 
was  wounded  in  the  arm,  had  been  taken  to  the  top  of  a  hill 
above  the  town,  to  whom  a  na<nber  of  the  men  and  some  of 
the  officers  were  gathered  ;  fr   tu  whence  they  had  discovered 

•  Jones's  History  of  the  Junii  ta  V  .:'  v,  p.  97. 

t  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Oil  Series,  V.i),  II,  p.  776. 


14  Hislorif  of  the  Girtys. 

some  Indians  cross  the  river  [Alleghany]  and  take  the  hill 
with  an  intention,  as  they  thought,  to  surround  us  and  cut  off 
our  retreat.  From  these  men  I  had  sundry  pressing  messages 
to  leave  the  houses  and  retreat  to  the  hills,  as  we  should  all 
be  cut  oif ;  but  to  this  I  could  by  no  means  consent  until  all 
the  houses  were  set  on  fire,  though  our  spreading  upon  the 
hills  appeared  very  necessary,  yet  did  it  prevent  our  re- 
searches of  the  corn  field  and  river  side,  by  which  means  sun- 
dry scalps  were  left  behind,  and,  doubtless,  some  squaws,  chil- 
dren, and  English  prisoners  that  otherwise  might  have  been 
got."* 

The  "  English  prisoners "  not  rescued — including  Simon 
Girty  and  his  brothers  James  and  George — were  hurried  across 
the  Alleghany,  and  immediately  started,  with  a  guard  of  sav- 
ages, for  the  woods  to  the  westward,  in  order  that,  should  they 
attempt  to  escape,  in  hopes  of  overtaking  Armstrong's  force, 
they  would  have  little  or  no  chance  of  success.  As  soon  as 
danger  was  over,  all  were  brought  back  to  Kittanning.f 
"  There,"  say  two  eye  witnesses,  "  we  had  the  mournful  op- 
portunity of  witnessing  the  cruel  end  of  an  English  woman, 
who  had  attem  oted  to  flee  out  of  her  captivity,  and  to  return 
to  the  settlements  with  Colonel  Armstrong.  Having  been  re- 
captured by  the  savages,  and  brought  back  to  Kittaiining,  she 
was  put  to  death  in  an  unheard  of  way.  *  First,  they  scalped  her ; 
next,  they  laid  burning  splinters  of  wood,  here  and  there,  upon 
her  body ;  and  then  they  cut  off  her  ears  and  fingers,  forcing 
them  into  her  mouth  so  that  she  had  to  swallow  them.  Amidst 
such  torments,  this  woman  lived  from  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  until  toward  sunset,  when  a  French  ofiicer  took  com- 
passion on  her,  and  put  her  out  of  her  misery.     An  English 

soldier,  on  the  contrary,  named  John ,  who  escaped  from 

prison,  at  Lancaster,  and  joined  the  French,  had  a  piece  of 
flesh  cut  from  her  body  and  ate  it.     When  she  was  dead,  the 

•  Pennsylvunia  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  II,  p.  770.  In  copying  this,  I 
have  slightly  changed  the  wording,  but  not  the  senee. 

t  Kittanning  was  only  occupied  temporarily  by  the  Indians  after  it  was 
burnt  by  Armstrong. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  15 

Indians  chopped  her  in  two,  through  the  middle,  and  let  her 
lie  until  the  dogs  came  and  devoured  her. 

"  Three  days  later,  an  Englishman  was  brought  in,  who  had, 
likewise,  attempted  to  escape  with  Colonel  Armstrong,  and 
burned  alive  in  the  same  village,  llis  torments,  however,  con- 
tinued only  about  three  heurs,  but  liis  screams  were  frightful 
to  listen  to.  It  rained  that  day  very  hard,  so  that  the  Indians 
could  not  keep  up  the  fire.  Hence,  they  began  to  discharge 
gunpowder  at  his  body.  At  last,  amidst  his  worst  pains,  when 
the  poor  man  called  for  a  drink  of  water,  they  brought  him 
melted  lead,  and  poured  it  down  his  throat.  This  draught  at 
once  helped  him  out  of  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  for  he 
died  on  the  instant."  * 

But  to  return  to  the  three  Girty  boys.  What  became  of 
Simon,  is  bes*^  lated  in  his  own  words  :  "  Simon  Girty  de- 
poseth  and  saith,  that  while  the  Frrnch  were  in  possession  of 
Fort  Duqncsne,  he  was  made  prisoner  by  a  party  of  Dela- 
wares,  Shawanese,  and  French  ;  that  he  was  carried  to  Kittan- 
ning,  which  was  then  inhabited  by  Delawares,  or  Munceys, 
upon  which  he  was  delivered  to  the  Senecas,  one  of  the  Six 
Nation  tribes."  f  James  went  with  the  Shawanese  ;  George 
with  the  Delawares.  They  were  adopted  by,  and  became 
members  of  families  belonging  to  the  respective  nations  men- 
tioned. 

Captured,  as  Simon  Girty  was,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he 
speedily  mastered  the  Seneca  language.  His  brothers  James 
and  George  also  readily  acquired  the  language  of  the  tribes 
to  which  they  belonged. 

Leaving  the  five  captives — Mrs.  Turner  and  her  son  John,  also 
Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty — with  the  Indians  for  "  a 
considerable  time,"  as  Simon  afterward  computQd  the  length 
of  his  sojourn  with  the  Senecas,  let  us  turn  our  attention  for 

*  Narrative  of  Mario  le  Roy  and  'Barbara  Leininger,  in  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol.  VII,  p.  405. 

t  From  a  deposition  by  Girty,  printed  in  the  Calendar  of  Virginia  State 
Papers,  Vol.  I,  p.  280.  This  is  a  portion  of  the  same  deposition  found  in 
the  Jefferson  MSS,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  VIII,  in  the  Department  f)f  State, 
Wasiiington,  already  citi-d.     It  was  probably  taken  in  March,  1777. 


16  History  of  the  Girti/s. 

a  moment  to  the  events  of  most  importance  in  the  West  fol- 
lowing the  attack  upon  Kittanning,  to  the  disappearance  of 
the  French  from  the  Ohio. 

The  Delawares  and  Shawanese  (notwithstanding  the  Indians 
of  the  Susquehanna  had  made  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  En- 
glish, at  Easton,  in  1757)  remained  hostile  upon  the  Ohio,  con- 
'  tinuing  their  murderous  attacks  until  the  summer  of  1758, 
when  the  advance  of  General  John  Forbes,  with  a  considera- 
hle  army,  against  Fort  Duquesne,  and  the  timely  sending  of 
an  emissary  among  them,  brought  these  savages  to  reason. 
When,  therefore,  the  English  army  appeared  before  Fort  Du- 
quesne, the  French  were  abandoned  by  their  savage  allies,  and 
the  post  would  have  fallen  an  easy  conquest  for  the  invaders, 
even  had  not  the  enemy  Avisely  vacated  it,  leaving  the  fortifi- 
cation little  else  than  smoldering  embers  ;  its  former  occu- 
pants retiring,  some  of  them  to  their  posts  up  the  Alleghany, 
others,  down  the  Ohio. 

During  the  autumn,  the  Ohio  Indians  sent  their  deputies  to 
Easton,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  them 
by  the  provinces.  This  treaty  was  followed  by  several  con- 
ferences at  Pittsburgh,  in  that  year  and  the  one  following,  be- 
tween agents  of  the  English,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  chiefs 
of  the  Ohio  Indians  and  Six  Nations  (Senecas),  on  the  other. 
Among  those  of  the  Indians  first  named,  were  Delawares, 
Shawanese,  and  Wyandots.  As  a  result  of  these  "  talks  "  with 
the  savages,  all  prisoners  held  by  them  were  brought  into 
Pittsburgh  and  delivered  up.  Of  these  were  the  three  Girty 
boys,  their  mother,  and  her  young  son — John  Turner.*  This 
took  place  some  time  during  the  year  1759. 

*  See  Niles's  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  262,  as  to  the  return  of  the 
whole  family  to  civilization,  except  Thomas  Girty,  who  had  previously  es- 
caped, as  before  mentioned.  Compare,  also,  the  Missouri  Gazette,  for  May 
7,  1814;  Sparks's  Library  of  American  Biography,  Second  Series,  Vol. 
XIII  (Pock's  Life  of  Boone),  p.  109,  note;  and  Albach's  Western  An- 
nals (1857),  p.  261.  But  Albach  makes  the  mistake  of  declaring  that  "  only 
the  mother  and  Simon  returned."  In  the  Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  p.  259,  it  is  said,  erroneously,  that  "  there  is  nothing  to  show  "  that 
Mrs.  Turner  ever  escaped  from  the  Indians. 


H'lHlory  of  the  Girlifs.  17 

Note. — Simon  Girty's  tleposition,  before  referred  to  as 
from  the  Jeflerson  MSS,  Fifth  Series,  Vol.  YIII,  in  the  De- 
partment of  State,  Wiisliington,  D.  C,  is  as  follows : 

"  Simon  Girty  deposeth  and  saith  that,  while  the  French 
were  in  possession  of  Fort  Duquesne,  he  was  made  prisoner  by 
a  part"  of  Delawares,  Shawanese.  and  French ;  that  he  was 
carried  to  Kittanning,  which  was  then  inhabited  by  Delawares, 
or  Munceys,  after  which  he  was  delivered  to  the  Senecas,  one 
of  the  Six  Nation  tribes,  where  he  continued  a  consider- 
able time;  that  he  always  understood  that  the  party  who  de- 
feated Colonel  Grant  consisted  of  French,  Wyandots,  Senecas, 
Delawares,  Shawanese,  and  Ottawas,  and  that  he  hears  that 
Hiashota  [usually  written  Guyasutha]  was  with  them.  The 
deponent  further  saith  that  the  party  which  defeated  Captain 
Bullitt  consisted  of  about  fifty-five  Indians  and  French,  a  ma- 
jority of  which  were  of  the  Seneca  Tribe.  And  the  deponent 
further  saith  that  he  heard  Hiashota  acknowledge  that  he  was 
in  the  engagement,  and  commanded  when  the  attack  was  made 
on  Colonel  Bouquet. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that  he  never  understood  the 
Indians  returned  t«  their  side  of  the  Alleghany  river,  or 
formed  any  settlements,  after  the  Kittanning  being  destroyed ; 
and  that  he  has  been  informed  it  is  not  customary  for  Indians 
to  re-settle  a  town  after  being  destroyed  by  an  enemy,  or  de- 
serted on  any  other  occasion.  The  deponent  further  saith  that 
he  does  not  know  of  any  settlements  being  made  between  the 
mouth  of  MonoTigahela  and  the  Little  Kanawha  till  after 
opening  the  Pennsylvania  Land  Office.  Simon'  Girty." 


18  IliHtoi'ij  vf  /III'  Girfi/n. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Of  Mrs.  Turner,  mother  of  the  Girty  boys  and  John  Tur- 
ner, Jr.,  all  that  ha.s  been  preserved  is  that,  subsequent  to  her 
being  delivered  up  by  the  Indians,  she  made  her  home  in 
Pittsburjrh  and  its  vicinity.  When  she  died  has  not  been  as- 
certained. 

The  very  brief  captivity  of  Thomas  Ciirty,  extending  only 
from  the  time  of  the  taking  of  Fort  Granville  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Kittanning  (less  than  forty  days),  precludes  the  idea 
of  his  having  received,  during  that  short  period,  impressions 
of  savage  life  that  could  have  become,  to  any  extent,  assim- 
ilated with  his  own.  If,  then  (as  a  published  account  says  of 
him),  he  was  "  an  Indian  of  the  worst  stamp,  in  every  thing 
but  complexion  and  costume,"  it  certainly  arose  from  his  as- 
sociation with  them  before  or  after  his  being  taken  prisoner. 
However,  it  could  not  have  been  possible  that  before  his 
capture  his  education  was  of  a  savage  cast ;  as,  from  his  birth 
to  that  date,  he  lived  at  home ;  and  the  idea  that  he  became 
an  Indian  in  character  and  action  subsequent  to  that  event, 
his  life-career,  as  hereafter  briefly  recorded,  sufficiently  dis- 
proves. 

Brought  in  by  the  savages  from  the  woods,  as  were  Simon 
Girty  and  his  brothers  James  and  George,  after  the  French, 
had  been  driven  from  the  Ohio,  only  the  first  named  was  of  an 
age  sufficient  to  engage  in  any  regular  employment,  and  even 
he  had  only  reached  eighteen  ;  all  were  left,  of  course,  to  shift 
for  themselves  ;  however,  when  arriving  at  manhood,  it  is 
probable  that  they  might  have  settled  down  to  something  like 
ordinary  business  habits  had  their  lots  been  cast  away  from 
the  western  border ;  but,  remaining  in  Pittsburgh,  then  a 
rough  frontier  settlement,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  their 
lives  were  shaped  by  their  surroundings  ?  Trading  with  the 
Indians  was  the  principal  employment  of  the  people  at  this 


HiMtory  of  thr  GirhjH.  10 

out-of-t!ie-way  place,  previous  to  the  war  of  ITd-T,  known  as 
"  I'ontiac's  Conspiracy;"  and  the  traffic  wa.s  resumed  imme- 
diately after  the  restoration  of  peace.  This  brought  into  req- 
uisition the  linguistic  ac(iuirement8  of  the  three  boys,  and 
gave  them  employment  as  interpreters,  frequently,  for  the 
traders  ;  Simon  speaking  the  Seneca  language,  George  the 
Delaware,  and  James  tlie  Shawanese,  as  already  mentioned. 

Simon  soon  made  himself  popular  with  the  Delawares,  many 
of  whom,  before  they  were  induced,  by  the  artful  wiles  of 
Pontiac  and  his  fellow-"  conspirators,"  to  take  up  the  hatchet 
against  the  English,  were  constantly  at  I'ittsburgh;  he  ac- 
quired their  language,  so  as  to  speak  it  fluently  ;  and  we  find 
that  one  of  their  principal  warriors — Katepakomen,  afterward 
a  chief  of  that  nation — took  his  name.-''  But  this  assuming, 
on  the  part  of  the  savage,  a  white  man's  name,  was  not  a 
strange  circumstance.  Other  Delawares  had  done  the  same. 
It  was  something,  als6,  not  unusual  for  Indians  of  other  tribes 
to  do. 

Now,  as  Katepakomen,  under  the  name  of  "  Simon  Girty," 
was  delivered  to  Colonel  Henry  Bouquet,  in  1704  (upon  the 
occasion  of  that  officer's  marching  with  lin  army  beyond  the 
Ohio),  as  a  hostage,  but  escaping  soon  after,  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  the  real  Simon  Girty  had  not,  at  that  date,  left  the 
Indians  and  returned  to  civilization, f  and  that  his  brothers, 
James  and  George,  were  still  held  as  captives  % — a  supposition 
wholly  unfounded,  as  already  shown.  The  Delaware  "  Simon 
Girty  "  as  we  have  said,  afterward  became  a  chief.§ 

It  is  a  grave  error  to  suppose  that,  after  the  return  of  the  three 
Girty  boys  to  Pittsburgh,  and  while  residing  there,  they  did 

•  Early  History  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  Appendix,  pp.  161,  173;  Colo- 
nial Kecords  of  Pennsylvania,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  212,  228,  250. 

t  Compare  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusliy, 
under  Colonel  William  Crawford,  in  1782,  p.  183. 

X  See  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  259. 

§  That  Katepakomen  afterward  became  a  chief,  see  Pennsylvania  Archives, 
Old  Series,  Vol.  IV,  p.  532;  also,  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  Vol. 
I,  p.  545.  At  this  time  (June,  1774),  "Thomas  McKee"  and  "William 
Anderson"  were  also  Delaware  chiefs. 


20  Ilixhjt'ji  of  iJt,'   airti/x. 

not  give  up,  to  a  grout  oxteiit,  the  lialiits  and  iuaniiei'8  wliich 
hail  hecii  acriuirecl  ]jy  them  during  their  eaptivity.''"  How- 
ever, they  did  not  forget  the  wihi,  free  life  of  the  woods,  and 
they  continued  their  liking  for  the  Indians,  enjoying  heartily, 
whenever  occasion  offered,  visits  to  their  eaiups,  which  were 
frequently  to  be  seen  in  .ho  vicinity. 

Simon  (and,  it  is  probable,  ids  two  brothers,  also)  made 
many  friends  among  the  white  people  of  Pittsburgh ;  nay, 
among  a  certain  class,  he  was  a  man  of  intiuence.  lie  took 
an  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  it  is  one  '  *he  incidents 
preserved  of  his  history  that  he  voted  at  tiie  iirst  eloctioa 
ever  held  in  Bedford — a  county,  at  that  datj  (1771),  made  to 
include  the  whole  of  western  Pennsylvania.  At  this  time, 
there  was  a  small  garrison  maintp.ined  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  Simon 
is  represented,  by  one  who  there  made  his  acquaintance,  as 
"  a  man  of  talents,''  and  that  he  "  had  great  influence  in  the 
garrison  and  with  the  Indians."  Though  employed  during 
the  year  1772  in  the  congenial  work  of  interpreting,  he  found 
time  to  join  in  frequent  disputes  concerning  the  boundary 
line,  which  was  not  yet  run  in  the  west,  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia.  He  sided  with  the  Virginians.  But  of  this 
hereafter.  i 

Several  traders  from  Pennsylvania,  in  1772,  had  their  head- 
quarters beyond  the  Ohio,  among  the  Shawanese ;  and,  with 
the  same  nation,  at  that  date,  was  James  Girty,  who,  it  is  to 
be  supposed,  passed  much  of  his  time  in  the  employment  of 
these  white  men,  in  their  traffic  with  the  savages.  A  traveler, 
Rev.  David  Jones,  from  Freehold,  New  Jersey,  saw  him  among 


•  "  It  is  even  said  that  they  [Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty]  returned 
to  their  tribes  [after  their  being  brought  in  by  the  Indians  and  delivered 
up],  but  that  the  Indians  were  again  compelled  to  give  them  up.  .  .  . 
Much  of  their  time  after  their  rescue  was  spent  about  Fort  Pitt;  and  the 
then  wild  and  wooded  locality  in  that  vicinitj-,  which  later  received  the 
name  of  Squirrel  Hill,  seems  to  have  been  one  of  their  favorite  haunts." — 
Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  269.  This  is  all  wrong- 
wrong  as  to  their  returning  to  their  tribes  after  being  once  delivered  up; 
wrong  as  to  one  of  their  haunts  being  Squirrel  Hill;  wrong  as  to  the  gen- 
eral idea  that  they  were  then  so  much  imbued  with  the  instincts  of  savage 
life  as  to  actually  shun  civilization — anxious  to  flee  from  it. 


Hialory  of  the.  Girti/s.,  21 

those  In  liiins  the  next  year,  and  niado  his  nc(|uaiiitanco. 
Jones  reached  Paint  creek,  a  tributary  of  tho  Scioto,  intend- 
ing to  labor  anioiii;  tlic  Shawanese  is  a  missionary.  Hut  his 
idea  of  preaching  to  tlie  savages  was  given  up,  because  of 
their  opposition,  an<l  of  liis  failu  o  to  secure  a  good  interpre- 
ter. One  had  been  recommended,  and,  on  the  iotli  of  Janu- 
ary, of  the  year  last  mentioned,  he  instituted  inquiry  about 
him  ;  but  "  he  was  hunting  beavers  and  would  not  be  in  till 
spring.''  "This  news,"  he  wrote  in  his  diary,  "  blasted  all 
my  prospects  of  making  an  useful  visit;  anw,  naving  no  other 
remedy,  [I]  applied  to  one  James  Gerty  [Girty],  who  was  well 
ac(iuainted  with  their  [the  Shawanese]  language,  but  a  stranger 
to  religion  ;  neither  hud  he  any  inclination  to  engage  in  such 
solemn  matters  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  his  life,  [he]  having 
little  or  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes;  yet  he  was  civil,  and, 
after  much  persuasion,  engaged  to  assist  mc  ;  but  [he]  dare 
not  proceed,  he  said,  before  some  head  men  came  home,  who 
were  out  hunting,  but  expected  soon  to  return.  In  the  mean- 
time, I  employed  myself  in  making  a  vocabulary  of  the  Shaw- 
anese language,  by  his  [Girty's]  assistance  and  Mrs.  Henry's 
[the  wife  of  a  white  trader,  herself  a  white  woman]."  -^  How- 
ever, the  temper  of  the  Indians  was  such  that  the  good  man 
did  not  wait  for  the  return  of  the  "  head  men,"  but  soon 
started  on  his  journey  homeward. 

From  all  that  is  known  of  Simon  Girty  during  the  time  that 
elapsed  after  his  return  from  captivity  to  the  end  of  1773,  it 
is  evident  that  his  employment  was,  to  a  great  extent,  that  of 
Indian  interpreter,  getting,  when  working  for  the  Crown,  a 
dollar  a  day.  His  brother,  James,  seems  to  have  had  no  per- 
manent wav  of  obtaining  a  livelihood ;  sometimes  he  found 
work  as  a  common  laborer,  sometimes  as  an  interpreter  for 
traders.  Their  brother,  George,  however,  became  (for  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  we  have  just  mentioned)  a  trader  Avith  the 
Indians  on  his  own  account. t  What  is  known  of  Thomas 
Girty,  for  the  twelve  years  immediately  suceeding  his  return 

♦  Jones's  Journiil  (Sabine's  reprint,  New  Yorl«,  I8G0),  pp.  55,  CO,  61. 
t  See  Historical  Magazine  for  1870,  New  Series,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  103-107 


22  Hittory  of  the  Girfi/n. 


to  tlio  Siis(|iu'liaiiiia  hottlotnciits  from  Kittanniiig,  is  only  tlint  ho 
8ou;;lit  a  homo  in  the  West  after  Pontiao's  war  of  17<)'^  but  somo 
time  before  IT'lH,*  was  niarrietl,  and  aettled  down  to  a  compar- 
atively (|uiot  life  at  I'ittHbur;;li.  At  the  date  last  mentioned, 
wo  catch  a  ^linij)S()of  him.  Durinjr  that  year,  ho  sold  to  Richard 
llutler  and  his  brother,  William,  "one  humlred  pounds  of  old 
iron,  sixteen  pounds  of  fall  skins,  and  a  bushel  of  potatoes." 
And  ho  purchased  from  those  brothers,  during  the  same  year, 
three  'vood  screws  and  a  number  of  articles  necessary  to  the  re- 
pair of  a  rille.  Now,  this  looks  like  a  domestic  life  for  Thomas  ; 
and  tradition  confirms  the  ao|)euranco.  thouj:;h  it  is  certain  ho 
was  at   one  time  engaged  in  "packing"  goods  for  the  traders. 

*  CHlnrulur  of  VirKitiia  Stnto  Piipers,  Vol.  I,  p.  280,  where  \w  ti'stittos  to 
ocrtiiin  diclf',  from  which  tostinmny  Iho  iil)ov()  Hlnlomunl  aa  to  bis  living  in 
the  West  some  time  before  17C8  i»  to  be  inferred. 


I/lxlonj  of  Ihi-   (>irli/x.  23 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Tlio  year  1774  was  jjrolilic  of  troublo  in  that  part  of  tlie 
country  west  of  tho  Alleghany  inouiitaiiis,  which  includes  the 
rt'i^ioii  now  constitutinj^  .South-west  l'cnn?ylvania  and  tl»o 
north-west  portion  of  ^Vcst  Yirjfinia.  It  was  a  year  i.iade 
consjjicuous  because  of  the  intensity  of  ill-feeling  between 
those  residents  who  ailhcred  to  Pennsylvania  in  her  claim  to 
considerable  territory  upon  the  Ohio  river,  and  those  who  in- 
sisted that  Virginia  included  IMttsburj»h,  and  extended  a  con- 
siderable distance  to  the  eastward  of  it.  The  contest  for  juris- 
diction was  a  bitter  one,  and  came  well  nigh,  on  several  oc- 
casions, reaching  a  point  enkindling  actual  war. 

In  177?5,  Westmoreland  county  was  formed  by  Pennsylvania 
out  of  tho  western  portion  of  IJedford,  and  its  county-seat  es- 
tablished at  Ilannastown,  about  thirty  miles  e,  stward  of 
Pittsburgh.  During  the  summer,  Lord  Dunmore,  governor  of 
Virginia,  visited  the  western  country,  and  soon  after  adopted 
measures  looking  to  a  contest  with  Pennsylvania  for  jurisdic- 
tion over  it.  M'.>anwhile,  Simon  Girty  was  getting  demon- 
strative on  the  side  of  Virginia.  At  the  October  session  of 
1773,  of  the  court  of  Westmoreland  county,  at  Ilannastown, 
a  true  bill  for  a  misdemeanor  was  found  by  the  grand  jury 
against  him.  Process  was  issued  for  his  arrest,  but  he  es- 
caped.=•■ 

Lord  Dunmore's  chosen  agent  in  the  disputed  territory  was 
Dr.  John  Connolly,  of  Pittsburgh,  who  began,  the  first  of  Jan- 
uary, 1774,  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  his  superior,  by 
calling  on  tho  people  to  meet  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  that 
month,  as  militia,  when  he  would  "■  communicate  matters  for 
the   promotion  of  public   utility."     "  His  Excellency,  John, 

*  Cnnnrine's  History  of  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  p.  162. 
AVhether  he  was  actually  arrested  is  not  known. 


24  ffistory  of  the   Girfi/x. 

Earl  of  Duninorc,  Govcrnor-in-Chief  and  Captain-General  of 
the  Colony  and  Dominion  of  Yirr;inia,  and  Viro-Adiniral  of 
the  same/'  said  Connolly,  "has  been  pleased  to  nominate  and 
appoint  me  captain  commandant  of  the  militia  of  Pittsburgh 
and  its  dependencies,  Avith  instructions  to  assure  his  majesty's 
subjects,  settled  on  the  western  waters,  that,  having  the  great- 
est regard  for  their  prosperity  and  interest,  and  convinced, 
from  their  repeated  memori.als,  of  the  grievances  of  which 
they  complain,  that  he  proposes  moving  to  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses the  necessity  of  erecting  a  new  county,  to  include 
Pittsburgh,  for  the  redress  of  your  complaint,  and  to  take  every 
other  step  that  may  tend  to  afford  you  that  justice  which  you 
solicit,"  This  was  the  commencement,  in  earnest,  of  the 
boundary  troubles  west  of  the  mountains.  . 

The  champion  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  dispute  was  Arthur 
St.  Clair,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  of  Westmoreland 
county.  He  soon  caused  the  arrest  of  Connolly,  and  had  him 
imprisoned  at  Hannastown.  The  latter,  however,  was,  not 
long  after,  released  upon  parole.  Disturbances  multiplied,  es- 
pecially at  Pittsburgh.  The  Pennsylvania  Court  at  Hannas- 
town was  assailed  by  Connolly  with  an  armed  force  of  "  Vir- 
ginia militia ;"  and,  afterward,  three  of  its  justices  were  sent 
to  Staunton,  Virginia,  to  jail.  Fort  Pitt  was  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  Connolly,  and  its  name  changed  to  "  Fort  Dun- 
more."  Pennsylvania  justices  in  Pittsburgh  seemed,  in  an 
especial  manner,  the  objects  of  his  wrath.  In  an  assault  by  a 
party  of  his  militia  on  iEneas  Mackay,  the  life  of  Mrs.  Mac- 
kay  was  put  in  jeopardy.  One  of  the  militia  officers  struck 
at  her  head  with  the  barrel  of  his  gun,  with  great  violence; 
but  an  eye  witness  declares  that  Simon  Girty,  who  stood  by, 
"  parried  off  the  stroke  with  his  hand."  *  This  exhibition  of 
manliness  on  the  part  of  Girty,  is  heightened  by  the  circum- 
stance of  his  being  present  at  the  house  of  Mackay  as  a  Vir- 
ginia partisan. 

It  Avas  not,  at  this  date,  the  boundary   troubles   only   that 

*  Pennsylvania  .-\rc'hive?,  Old  Series,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  565,  506. 


Hutory  of  the  Girtys.  25 

brought  distress  to  the  region  of  the  upper  Ohio.  There  was 
a  portentious  war-cloud  arising  south-west  of  Pittsburgh. 
Virginians  on  the  one  side,  Shawanesc  and  Mingoes  '^"  on  the 
other — these  were  the  combatants.  The  general  antagonism 
of  the  red  and  white  races,  now  being  brought  continually 
nearer  to  each  other,  as  the  tide  of  emigration  broke  through 
the  Alleghanies,  and  rolled  down  in  a  continuous  flow  upon  the 
Ohio  valley,  was  the  remote  cause  of  the  conflict.  The  im- 
mediate cue  was  acts  of  aggression  on  both  sides.  For  ten 
years  following  the  so-called  "  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,"  in 
1703,  there  was  peace  upon  the  border;  nevertheless,  mur- 
ders were  frequent  on  both  sides — but  particularly  on  that  of 
the  savag'es.  Neither  the  Indians  nor  the  Virginians  were 
prepared  by  a  continuous  forbearance  to  avoid  a  conflict, 
which,  sooner  or  later,  would  surely  be  brought  on  between 
them.  The  redmen  charged  the  ''  Long  Knives  "  with  com- 
mencing hostilities  ;  the  "  Long  Knives  "  declared  the  Shaw- 
anese  and  Mingoes  the  aggressors.  The  killing  of  the  rela- 
tives of  the  Mingo  chief,  Logan,  and  other  Indians,  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis,  and  "  Lord  Dunmorc's  War  "  ensued,  the 
first  movement  of  importance,  on  the  part  of  the  Virginians, 
being  that  of  Major  Angus  McDonald  against  the  Shawanese 
towns  upon  the  Muskingum,  which  was  successful. 

In  this  war,  8iinon  Girty  was  an  active  participant.  Tak-, 
ing  sides  with  Virginia  in  the  boundary  troubles,  naturally  he 
would  not  be  backward  in  aiding  her  against  the  savages. 
That  he  was  a  Pennsylvanian  did  not  deter  him. 

So,  when  Dunmore  reached  Pittsburgh,  on  his  way  with  the 
northern  division  of  a  Virginia  army  to  attack  the  Shawanese 
and  Mingoes  if  these  savages  did  not  comply  with  his  terms, 
Girty  enlisted  under  his  banner  as  scout  and  interpreter. 
"  He  [Dunmore]  "   says  a  recent  writer,  already  cited,  "  had 

*  The  Aliiiijoes,  west  and  north-west  of  the  0\\\o,  iit  this  diite  and  later, 
were  mongrel  band?,  made  up  principallj'  from  the  Six  Nations  (particularly 
the  Senecas)  and  Dolawnrei".  The  liitter  were  mostly  of  the  sul>-tribo 
known  as  the  Monseys  (t;enerally  written  ^luncoy's).  <.)f  all  their  chiefs, 
the  most  noted  was  Logan,  a  Cayuga,  soon  to  be  mentioned. 


26  Hidory  of  the,   Girli/n. 

with  him  as  scouts  many  men  famous  in  frontier  story,  aiLOng 
them,  George  Rogers  Chirk.  Jresixp,  and  Simon  Kenton — aft- 
erwards the  bane  of  every  neighboring  Indian  tribe,  and  re- 
nowned all  along  the  border  for  his  deeds  of  desperate  prow- 
€l's,  his  wonderful  adventures,  and  his  hair-breadth  escapes. 
Another,  of  a  very  different  stamp,  was  Simon  Girty.  .  . 
At  the  moment  he  was  serving  Lord  Dunmore  and  the  whites  ; 
but  he  was,  bv  tastes,  habits,  and  education  a  red  man,  who 
felt  ill  at  ease  among  those  of  his  own  color."  *  But  this  is 
robbing  him  of  too  much — far  too  much — of  his  white  "  tastes, 
habits,  and  education,"  as  will  hereafter  be  fully  shown. 

With  Givtv,  went  his  half-brother,  Jo'm  Trrner.  John  was 
brought  back  to  civilization  at  a  tender  age,  as  already  indi- 
cated, lie  grew  to  man's  estate  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh, 
and  married  there ;  but  nothing  is  known  of  his  wife  :  chil- 
dren, he  had  none. 

Governor  Dunmore,  with  about  twelve  hundred  men,  now 
started  down  the  Ohio.  It  was  his  intention,  originally,  to  go 
as  far  down  that  stream  as  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha ; 
but,  before  reaching  Pittsburgh  (and  while  at  Old  Town),  he 
changed  his  plan,  resolving  to  stop  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lit- 
tle Kanawha.  However,  at  Pittsburgh,  he  concluded  the 
mouth  of  the  Hockhocking  would  be  the  better  place  to  make 
,his  first  stand  in  the  enemy's  country :  so  his  forces  were  put 
in  motion,  destined  for  that  point. 

The  southern  division  of  the  army  was  put  under  command 
of  Colonel  Andrew  Lewis,  whose  orders  were  to  move  down 
the  Great  Kanawha  to  its  mouth,  these  orders  being  changed, 
however,  by  Dunmore  before  leaving  Old  Town,  as  just  inti- 
mated, so  that  the  two  divisions  were  to  unite  at  the  mouth  of 
the  liittle  Kanawha.  But  this  arrangement  was  made  known 
to  Lewis  at  so  late  a  date  that  he  could  not  change  his  route, 
and  he  moved  on  down  the  river  first  mentioned. 

At  the  Little  Kanawha,  Dunmore,  in  ignorance  as  to  whether 
Lewis  had  reached  Point  Pleasant  (mouth  of  the  Great  Kan- 


Konsevelt,  in  The  Winning  of  llie  Wen,  Vol  I,  pp.  219,  2-JO. 


Hidory  of  (he  Girti/s.  27 

awha),  sent  him  a  message  for  information,  and  containing  in- 
structions, also,  for  that  oificer  to  move  his  force  up  the  Ohio, 
to  join  him  at  the  Hockiiocking.  Girty  and  at  least  one 
other  scout  were  detailed  to  carry  this  message."''"  When  they 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  they  found  Lewis 
had  not  arrived  there  ;  whereupon,  they  deposited  their  letters 
in  a  hollow  tree,  posting  a  notice  in  a  conspicuous  place  which 
gave  directions  where  the  documents  could  be  found.  Tliey 
then  returned  to  Dunmore's  army. 

The  governor  and  his  force  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Hock- 
hocking,  early  in  October,  when  another  express  was  dis- 
patched to  Lewis  to  move  up  the  Ohio  and  join  him  there, 
which,  on  the  8th  of  October,  found  him  at  Point  Pleasant, 
where  he  had  arrived  two  days  previous. t  It  was  impossible, 
however,  for  him  to  start  at  once,  on  account  of  the  non-ar- 
rival of  supplies  and  ammunition,  and  of  a  portion  of  his 
troops.  Meanwhile,  scouts  had  been  sent  to  tlie  governor  by 
him.  These  returned  on  the  thirteenth,  with  an  order  from 
his  lordship  to  march  directly  toward  the  Sliawanese  towns,  in 
what  is  now  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  and  join  him  at  a  certain 
point  on  the  way. J 

Dunmore  now  put  his  division  in  motion  for  the  same  desti- 
nation. His  march  was  enlivened  by  an  occasional  sight  of 
an  Indian.  One  was  shot  by  Girty,  but  whether  killed  or  not 
is  uncertain.  A  skirmish  also  took  place  with  the  savages,  on 
the  march,  but  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  Lulians.S     It  is  here 

*  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History,  p.  88;  l)e  Huss's  History  of  the  Early  Set- 
tlement and  Indian  Wars  of  Western  Virginia,  p.  la'i,  note. 

t  "On  the  9th  [of  October,  177-1],  iSimon  Girty  arrived  in  cnnip,  bringing 
a  message  from  Lord  Dunmore." — Roosevelt.  "Some  accounts  say,"  iidds 
that  author,  "that  he  [Girty]  was  accompanied  by  Kenton  and  McC'uUoch." 
But,  as  already  explained,  it  was  the  first  messaije  sent  by  Dunmore  (of 
which  message  Roosevelt  is  ignorant)  that  was  intrusted  to  Girty. 

t  This  message  is  by  Uoosevelt  confounded  with  the  one  wliich  hn  says 
reached  Lewis  by  the  hands  of  Girty  on  the  (Hh  of  October.  The  lirst  two 
messages  ordered  Lewis  up  the  Ohio  to  unite  with  Dunmore;  the  last  one 
directed  him  to  cross  that  river  at  Point  Pleasant  and  meet  him  on  the  way 
to  the  Shawanese  towns. 

J  See  Dunmore's  Official  Iteport,  in  Magazine  of  Western  History,  Vol. 


28  Hisfori/  of  ilw  Girtiis. 

> '  '  ' ^^^^^ 

■worthy  of  notice,  in  view  of  Girty's  subsciiuent  career,  that 
he  manifested  tlic  stronsicst  desire  to  kill  anv  savage  that 
might  be  found  lurking  in  front  of  the  army ;  indeed,  his  an- 
tipathy, apparently,  to  the  redskins,  was  very  marked. 

On  the  march  to  the  Indian  villages,  Lord  Dunmore  was 
overtaken  by  a  courier  from  Lewis,  acquainting  him  of  a 
hard  fought  battle  on  the  lOth  of  October,  at  Point  Pleas- 
ant, where  his  army  had  contended  all  day  long  with  a  large 
force  of  Shawanese  and  other  savages,  commanded  by  the 
Shawanese  chief  Cornstalk,  only  to  claim  the  victory  at  night- 
fall, after  a  severe  loss  in  killed  and  wounded. 

A  wholly  erroneous,  and,  withal,  most  ridiculous  story,  has 
found  its  way  into  print,  to  the  effect  that  Simon  Girty  was 
the  leader  of  the  Indians  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant; 
that  he  was  not  only  an  express  sent  by  Dunmore  to  Lewis, 
but  that  he  had  a  wordy  encounter  with  the  latter,  threat- 
ening him,  and  finally  carrying  his  threat  into  execution,  by 
fleeing  to  the  wilderness  and  marshaling  the  savages  across 
the  Ohio  against  him,  and  leading  them  to  the  conflict  just 
mentioned. -•• 

On  the  seventeenth,  Lewis  crossed  the  Ohio,  and  took  up 
his  line  of  march  to  the  Scioto,  to  join  Dunmore.  His  lord- 
ship was  met,  before  he  reached  the  Indian  villages,  by  a  mes- 
senger (a  white  man)  from  the  enemy,  anxious  for  an  accom- 
modation ;  for  a  peace  had  already  been  conqueied  by  the 
Virginians,  at  a  sacrifice,  as  just  related,  of  many  valuable 
lives,  in  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant.  Dunmore  sent  back  the 
messenger   Avith    John   Gibson   and    Girtv.      The    two    soon 

I,  p.  457  (March,  I880).  It  i?  a  letter  froni  Diinnicire  to  Dartmouth,  from 
"Williamsburtih,  dated  December  24,  ITT-l. 

*  William  D.  Gallagher,  the  poet,  tir?t  gave  to  the  world  this  story,  which 
is  by  odds  the  most  fictitiously  fictitious  that  lias  as  yet  appeared  in  print 
Concerning  any  of  the  Girtj's.  However,  lie  is  not  t><  be  censured  for  tliis, 
for  he  was  assured  of  its  truth  by  one  who  claimed  to  have  been  associated 
with  Girty  and  knew  whereof  he  spoke!  Mr.  Gallau'her'';  article  is  entitled 
"  Girty,  the  Renegade,''  and  first  appeared  in  The  Hesperian,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
340,  423,  which  will  be  found  republished.  substHntially,  in  The  IJackwoods- 
men,  pp.  498-525.  See  also  (with  some  variations  "  in  the  tradition,"  as  it 
is  styled)  The  Trans-Alleghany  Pioneers,  pp.  223-225. 


Historij  of  the  Girft/s.  29 

brouglit  an  answer  to  liis  lordship  from  the  Sliawanese.  Gib- 
son, nearly  twentv-six  years  after,  in  relatinrr  the  affair,  Uf- 
nores  the  presence  of  Girty  entirely.*  But  his  memory  was 
certainly  at  fault,  for  a  number  of  persons  present,  afterward 
declared  that  he  was  accompanied  by  Girty. 

While  ne_!j;otiations  were  going  forward,  the  Mingo  chief, 
Lo2;an,  held  himself  aloof.  "  Two  or  three  days  before  the 
treaty,"  says  an  eye  witness,  "  when  1  was  on  the  out-guard, 
Simon  Girty,  who  was  passing  by,  stopped  with  me  and  con- 
versed :  he  said  he  was  going  after  Logan,  but  he  <lid  not  like 
his  business,  for  he  was  a  surly  fellow.  He,  however,  pro- 
ceeded on,  and  I  saw  him  return  on  the  day  of  the  treaty,  and 
Logan  was  not  with  him.  At  this  time,  a  circle  was  formed, 
and  the  treaty  begun.  I  saw  Jonn  Gibson,  on  Girty's  arrival, 
get  up  and  go  out  of  the  circle  and  talk  with  Girty,  after 
which  he  (Gibson)  went  into  a  tent,  and  soon  after  returning 
into  the  circle,  drew  out  of  his  pocket  a  piece  of  clean,  new 
paper,  on  which  was  written,  in  his  own  handwriting,  a  speech 
for,  and  in  the  name  of  Logan."  f  This  was  the  famous 
"  speech,"  X  about  which  there  has  been  so  much  controversy. 
It  is  now  well  established   that   the  version  as  first  printed, 

*  See  Gibson's  Statement,  in  Appendix  to  the  Notes  on  Virginia  [Jeffer- 
son's] Relative  to  tbe  Murder  of  Logan's  Family  (Philadelphia,  1801),  pp. 
13-16. 

t  From  lionjiiinin  Tomlinson's  testimony,  as  given  in  Jacob's  Life  of 
Cresap,  pp.  76,  108,  109.  "Ho  [Tomlin.son]  hints,"  says  Roosevelt  (in  The 
Winning  of  the  West,  V<il.  I,  p.  Soil,  "but  does  not  frankly  assert,  that 
Oibson  was  not  sent  ai'ter  Logan,  but  that  Girty  was."  It  is  suggested  that 
his  "hint"  is  about  as  plain  as  any  frank  assertion  could  be.  In  An  Histor- 
ical Account  of  the  Expedition  again.'t  Sandusky,  etc.,  pp.  30,  31,  the  writer 
of  this  narrative  gives  credit  to  Gibson's  statement,  which  says  nothing 
about  the  part  taken  by  Girty  in  connection  with  Logan's  "speech;"  but  I 
am  now  abundantly  satisfied  that  Tomlinson's  testimony  in  this  respect  is  to 
be  relied  upon.  Gibson  was  not  ambitious  to  have  his  name  connected  with 
that  of  Girty,  after  tho'latter  became  odious.  "  There  is  some  uncertainty," 
says  Roosevelt,  "  as  to  whether  Logan  came  up  to  Gibson  at  the  treaty  and 
drew  him  aside,  or  whether  the  latter  went  to  seek  him  in  his  wigwam." 
See  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  1,  p.  237,  note.  But  there  is  no  "  un- 
certainty" about  it;  thej'  did  not  meet  each  other  at  all. 

+  "I  appeal  to  any  white  man,"  etc. 


30  History  of  the  GirtyH. 


Avas  substantiiilly  the  words  of"  Logan ;  but  it  is  ecjually 
certain,  that  he  (Logan),  in  attributing  the  miiriler  of  his 
rehvtives  to  Colonel  Cresap,  was  mistaken.  Oirty,  from 
'•ecollection,  translated  the  "speech"  to  Gibson,  and  the 
latter  put  it  into  excellent  English,  as  he  was  abundantly 
capable  of  doing. 

I'eace  followed  with  the  Slmwanese ;  but  the  Mingocs,  in 
attempting  to  escape  without  making  terms  with  Dunmore, 
were,  by  Major  William  Crawford,  who  led  a  few  brave  men 
against  them,  severely  punished. 

It  was  while  on  the  inarch  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ilock- 
hocking  to  the  Shawanese  towns,  that  Dunmore,  knowing  that 
Girty  and  his  half-brother,  John  Turner,  as  well  as  the  broth- 
ers, Joseph  and  Thomas  Nicholson,  Avho  were  also  with  the 
army  as  scouts,  had  lived  among  the  Indians,  desired  them  to 
get  up,  for  his  diversion,  an  Indian  dance ;  which  they  did, 
greatly  to  the  admiration  and  astonishment  of  the  governor. 
They  interspersed  the  performance  with  Indian  songs  and 
yells  that  made  the  welkin  ring. 

Lord  Dunmore's  War  did  not  lessen  the  severity  of  the 
boundary  troubles  in  and  around  Pittsburgh, 'and  Girty  wa» 
rewarded  for  the  part  he  had  performed  upon  the  expedition 
against  the  Shawanese,  and  for  the  interest  taken  by  him  on 
the  side  of  Virginia,  concerning  the  unrun  boundary  line,  with 
a  commission  in  the  militia  at  "Fort  Dunmoi'e."  The  list  of 
officers  stood  thus :  John  Connolly,  major  ;  George  Aston, 
captain;  William  Christy,  first  lieutenant;  Simon  Girty,  sec- 
ond lieutenant;  Jacob  Bousman,  ensign. 

There  is  evidence  that  these  officers  were  not  idle.  An  eye 
witness  deposed  "  That,  on  this  instant — 24th  of  December 
[1774] — a  number  of  armed  men  came  to  the  jail  of  the  said 
[Westmoreland]  county  [at  Hannastown],  and  ordered  him 
[the  deponent]  to  open  the  prison  doors  and  turn  out  a  certain 
William  Thomas,  then  in  his  custody  on  sundry  executions  ;. 
that  he  believes  a  certain  William  Christy  and  Simon  Girty, 
who  seemed  to  be  officers  from  their  dress,  were   at  the   head. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  31 

of  their  party  ;  that  he,  this  deponent,  refused  to  deliver  his 
prisoner  or  open  tlie  door  wiiere  he  was  confined ;  that  they 
then  talked  of  throwing  down  the  house  ;  when  a  certain  Ma- 
jor Connolly  came  up,  inquired  who  resisted  the  releaseinent 
of  the  prisoners,  [and]  threatened  to  tie  and  carry  him  off. 
[The  said  Connolly]  then  ordered  the  party  to  fire  their  pieces 
against  the  house,  and  strip  off  the  roof;  on  which,  he  (this 
deponent),  being  afraid  of  ill  consequences,  both  to  his  person 
and  property,  did  open  the  door  to  allow  the  prisoner  to  speak 
to  the  party ;  and  one  of  them  rushed  in,  seized  him,  and 
dragged  him  out,  and  also  turned  out  a  certain  William  Daw- 
son, who  was  likewise  in  his  custody  on  execution  ;  and  that 
it  was  Connolly,  himself,  who  laid  hands  on  Thomas  and  drag- 
ged him  out."  '■^' 

At  about  the  time  of  this  transaction,  Virginia  courts  were 
organized  in  the  disputed  territory,  presided  over  by  justices 
of  the  peace,  appointed  by  Uovernor  Dunmore.  The  county 
court  of  Augusta  county  was  also  adjourned  from  Staunton  to 
"  Fort  Dunmore."  It  was  one  of  the  orders  of  this  court  that 
.all  militia  officers  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  oath 
of  supremacy,  the  test  oath,  and  the  oath  of  abjuration  ; 
therefore,  "  on  the  22d  of  February,  1775,  came  Simon  Girty, 
in  open  court,  and  took  and  subscribed  "'  all  of  them. 

Girty  did  "  sincerely  promise  and  swear  "  that  he  would  be 
"faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King 
George  the  Third,"  and  that  from  his  heart  he  did  "abhor, 
detest,  and  abjure  as  impious  and  heretical,  that  damnable 
doctrine  and  position,  that  princes  excommunicated  and  de- 
prived by  the  pope,  or  any  authority  of  the  see  of  Rome," 
might  be  deposed  or  murdered  by  their  subjects,  or  any  other 
persons.  He  also  swore  that  he  believed  there  was  not  "  any 
transubstantiation  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  or 
in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine  at  or  after  the  consecration 
thereof,  by  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever."     Then,  after 

*  Peimsylvania  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  X,  pp.  227,  228.  ,        _^:.-u_^ 


32  Hi»tor\j  of  the  Girtys. 

"truly  and  sincerely  "  acknowledging  King  George  the  Third 
to  bo  the  "■  lawful  and  rightful  king  "  of  the  realm,  he  sol- 
emnly declared  his  belief  that  the  pretender,  "  James  the 
Third,"  had  no  title  whatever  to  the  crown.  IIo  further 
swore  that  he  wouM  defend  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  his 
lawful  sovereign  "  against  all  traitorous  conspiriR;ios  and  at- 
tempts whatsoever,"  which  might  be  "  made  against  his  per- 
son, crown,  or  dignity,"  promising  "  to  support,  maintain, 
and  defend  the  succession  of  the  crown  against  him,  the  said 
James,  and  all  other  persons  whatsoever." 

So  it  was,  says  the  court  record,  that  •'  Simon  Girty  took 
the  usual  oaths  to  his  majesty's  person  and  government ;  sub- 
scribed the  abjuration  oath  and  test;  which  [fact]  is  ordered 
to  be  certified  on  his  commission  of  a  lieutenant  of  the  militia 
of  Pittsburgh  and  its  dependencies."'  ^• 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  at  this  time,  Girty,  notwith- 
standing there  was  trouble  of  a  serious  nature  between  the 
colonies  and  the  mother  country,  was  "  well-disposed  "  toward 
the  latter ;  for  Lord  Dunmore  furnished  his  government  a  list 
of  those  who  were  considered  by  him  as  loyal,  which  included 
his  name.     It  was  as  follows  : 

"At  Fort  Pitt :  Alexander  McKee,  deputy  agent  of  Indian 

affairs  ;  McKee,  brother  to  Alexander  ;  Alexander  Ross, 

a  Scotchman  ;  John  Campbell ;  Captain  George  Aston  ;  Lieu- 
tenant Simon  Girty ;  Lieutenant  William  Christy ;  Lieuten- 
ant Jacob  Bousman. 

"  Indians  to  be  heard  of  at  Fort  Pitt :  White  Eyes,  chief  of 
the  Delaware  Indians;  White  Mingo;  Cornstalk,  chief  of  the 
Shawanese ;  Kayashuta  [usually  written  Guyasutha],  chief  of 
the  Mingoes  ;  John  Montour,  half  white,  half  Indian  ;  Logan, 
a  great  warrior  of  the  Mingoes. 

"At  the  Alleghany  mountains,  and  to  bo  heard  of  at  Fort 

*  Compare,  in  this  connection,  Creigh's  History  of  Washington  County, 
Pennsylvania,  pp.  13,  14,  23;  also,  Crumrine's  history  of  the  same  county, 
p.  205.  See,  in  addition,  The  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Organization  of 
Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  by  the  writer  last  mentioned,  p.  31; 
also,  Centennial  History  of  Alleghany  County,  Pennsylvania,  p.  98. 


Ilixtori/  of  the  Girtya.  88 


Pitt :  Major  William  Crawford ;  Valentine  Crawford,  brother 
of  William  ;  John  Stephenson  [half-brother  of  William  and 
Valentine]  ;  William  Harrison  [son-in-law  of  William  Craw- 
ford] ;  Thomas  Gist,  and  his  brother."  * 

That  Simon  Girty  wmh  labored  with  by  Connolly  to  remain 
"loyal  to  govornnicnt,"  thoro  is  littK'  doubt.  The  words  of 
the  Major  imply  as  much.  lie  had  ])repared  u  banquet  at 
"  Fort  Dunmore,"  and  invited  to  the  feast  such  of  his  friends 
as  he  thought  he  could  best  depend  upon.  "  The  gentlemen 
present,"  says  Connolly,  "  Avere  most  of  them  either  ofticer? 
in  the  militia,  or  magistrates  of  the  county,  consequently  were 
those  whose  influence  and  wealth  could  most  effectually  serve 
the  cause.  A  solemn  compact  was  immediately  entered  into, 
stating,  that  if  an  accommodation  did  not  take  place,  and  I 
could  procure  the  necessary  authority  to  raise  men,  tliey  would, 
at  the  risk  of  life  and  property,  most  Avillingly  engage  to  re- 
store the  constitutional  authority,  as  far  as  any  co-operativo 
measure  from  that  county  could  contribute  to  so  salutary  a 
design."  t  Now,  as  Girty  was  not  wholly  without  influence, 
though  having  no  wealth,  and  as  he  was  one  of  the  officers  of 
Connolly's  militia, — that  he  was  present  at  the  Major's  enter- 
tainment and  was  one  of  those  who  entered  into  the  "  solemn 
compact,"  is  probable.  But  he  soon  changed  his  mind.  Dun- 
more's  "list"  was  doubtless  made  by  Connolly. 

*  :MS.  List  of  Persons  Well-disi)osed  to  His  Majesty's  Govornment,  Living 
on  the  Frontiers  of  Virginia:  Halditnand  Papers, 

t  From  A  Narrative  of  the  Transactions,  Imprisonment,  and  Sufferings 
of  John  Connolly,  an  American  Loyalist  and  Lieut.  Col.  in  His  Majesty's 
Service,  reprinted  in  Ponn.  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.,  Vol.  XII,  p.  317. 

3 


34  llulory  of  the  Girfi/s. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  iiniiiediiito  result  of  tlic  successful  termination  of  Lord 
Dunraore's  War  was,  to  Virginia,  comparative  innnnnity  from 
savage  aggressions  upon  her  western  border,  causing  a  re- 
newal of  emigration  to  the  "  western  waters  "  (whic'.  had  re- 
ceived a  decided  check) ;  and,  as  to  Pennsylvania,  a  quick 
resumption  of  trade  with  the  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio. 
Both  these,  however,  were  destined  soon  to  be  seriously  in- 
terfered  with,  for  the  War  of  the  Revolution  was  at  hand. 

After  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  fires  of  patriotism  west 
of  the  mountains  were  quickly  lighted.  The  hearts  of  man}' 
of  the  backwoodsmen  were  soon  aglow  with  enthusiasm  for 
the  cause  of  liberty.  On  the  Ifitli  of  May,  1775,  conventions 
were  held  at  Pittsburgh  and  Hannastown,  for  citizens  to 
give  expression  to  their  views  and  sentiments  regarding  the 
troubles  with  the  mother  country.  All  of  those  of  the  whites 
on  Dunmore's  "  list,"  with  one  or  two  exceptions  (and  Simon 
Girty  was  not  of  the  latter),  quickly  and  patriotically  rallied 
with  the  Whigs.  The  people  in  the  Trans-Alleghany  country, 
however,  had  little  to  fear  from  invading  armies  of  Great 
Britain.     Their  dread  was  of  a  more  merciless  foe. 

It  had  been  arranged  at  "  Camp  Charlotte,"  between  Lord 
Dunmore  and  the  Shawanese,  that  a  supplemental  treaty 
should  be  held  in  the  ensuing  spring  to  settle  some  minute 
matters  that  could  not  be,  as  his  Lordship  averred,  well  at- 
tended to  at  the  first  meeting.  The  whole  matter,  however, 
because  the  "  rebellion  "  had  made  it  impossible  for  Lord 
Dunmore  to  keep  his  promise,  was  put  into  the  hands  of 
Connolly,  who,  although  notifying  these  Indians  that  he  was 
ready  to  treat  and  deliver  up  the  hostages  who  had  been 
turned  over  to  Dunmore  at  the  conclusion  of  peace,  could  not 
induce  them  to  put  in  an  appearance ;  but,  as  the  Delawares 


Hittlory  of  the  Uirtijt.  85 

and  Mingoes  had  also  been  invited,  a  few  of  these  went  to 
Pittsburgh  and  liad  a  "  talic  "  witli  Connolly. 

The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  distrusting  Major  Con- 
nolly's treaty,  just  then  being  held,  and  hearing  of  the  discon- 
tent of  the  Ohio  Indians  because  the  understanding  with 
Lord  Dunniore  had  not  borne  fruits,  appointed  commission- 
ers to  meet  those  savages  and  ratify  the  "  Camp  Charlotte  " 
agreement.  One  of  the  men  appointed — James  Wood — not- 
withstanding the  "  talk  "  of  Connolly,  made  an  extended  trip 
into  the  Ohio  wilderness,  inviting  the  various  tribes  to  a  gen- 
eral meeting  at  IMttsburgh.''-  With  him,  as  guide  and  in- 
terpreter, went  Simon  Cirty,  also  under  pay  of  Virginia. 
The  sympathies  of  the  latter  were  now  fully  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  the  colonics  against  the  home  government.  He  was 
outspoken  in  his  donunciatiDUS  of  its  arbitrary  acts. 

The  two  left  Pittsburgh  in  July,  and  made  their  way  as 
far  west  as  the  upper  Wyandot  town,  on  the  Sandusky  river, 
within  the  present  limits  of  Wyandot  county,  Ohio.  Girty 
had  learned,  by  associating  witii  Wyandots  during  their  fre- 
quent visits  at  Pittsburgh  in  the  years  gone  by,  to  speak 
their  language  quite  intelligibly.  lie  had  also  taken  several 
trips  into  the  Ohio  wilderness  after  his  return  from  captivity 
among  ^ho  Senecas ;  so  that  he  could  readily  act  as  guide  as 
well  as  interpreter  even  so  far  west,  among  the  Ohio  Indians, 
as  the  Sandusky.  On  the  return  of  the  two,  they  visited 
Pluggy's  Town,  on  the  Scioto,  at  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  Delaware,  in  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  and  the  "  Big  Salt 
Licks,"  in  what  is  now  Franklin  county,  that  state. f  Girty, 
for  his  services  upon  this  tour,  was  paid  but  five  shillings  a  day, 
notwithstanding  he  underwent,  as  he  afterward  declared,  "  the 
greatest  fatigues,  difficulties,  and  dangers."     He  subsequently 


•  Magazine  of  Western  History,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  70-72. 

t  The  Journal  of  Wood  is  extant.  Important  parts  of  it  will  bo  found 
published  in  Karcheval's  History  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  pp.  181,  185; 
Force's  American  Archives,  Fourth  Series,  V  ;.  Ill,  pp.  76-78;  Washing- 
ton-Irvine Correspondence,  p.  9,  note  4;  Jacob's  Life  of  Cresap,  pp.  70,  85. 
Compare,  also,  Mayor's  Logan  and  Cresap,  pp.  134,  135. 


JJC  Iliafory  of  the  Qirlyn. 


— in  Miiy,  1777 — petitioned  the  Virginia  Executive  Council 
for  an  additional  compensation,  which  was  not  granted. 

By  the  middle  of  the  year  177'),  (Mtiinolly,  having  previously 
disbanded  and  discliargod  his  militia,  l)y  wliicli  means  (iirty 
lost  his  oflice  of  second  lieutenant,  h'l't  Pittsburgh,  much  (lis- 
gusted,  to  confer  with  Dunmore.  lie  declares  "the  dcmu- 
gogues  of  faction  wore  active." 

About  this  time  (that  is,  in  July,  177;")),  Congress  created 
three  Indian  departments — the  o!;o  west  of  the  AHcglianies  to  bo 
known  as  the  "Middle  Department,"  three  commissioners  be- 
ing appointed  to  preserve  peace  and  friendship  with  the  sav- 
ages therein.  These  commissioners  joined  their  efforts  with 
those  aj)pointed  previously  by  Virginia  to  bring  about  a  treaty 
with  the  western  savages.  Tn  October,  a  largo  body  of  Dcla- 
wares  and  Muncoys,  some  Shawaneso  and  Mingoes,  also  a 
few  Sandusky  Wyandots  and  Ottawas,  came  to  Pittsburgh,  A 
strict  neutrality,  as  between  the  mother  country  and  the  col- 
onics, was  urged  upon  the  Indians,  to  which  they  agreed. 
But  did  they  keep  tlieir  promise?     We  sliall  soon  sec. 

On  the  11th  of  September,  Captain  John  Neville  took  pos- 
session, under  orders  of  Virginia,  of  the  dihxpidated  Fort  Pitt 
(its  name  being  now  fully  restored),  at  the  head  of  one  hun- 
dred of  the  militia  of  that  commonwealth,  not  to  further  its 
interest  in  the  boundary  dispute  with  Pennsylvania,  but  to 
cover  and  protect  the  border  from  the  savages  whose  depreda- 
tions might  be  counted  upon  with  certainty. 

Tho  Indian  policy  of  Neville,  upon  taking  possession  of 
Fort  Pitt,  was  one  of  strict  neutrality,  powerless,  however, 
to  a  great  extent  with  the  western  tribes,  except  the  Dela- 
wares,  who  were  located  on  what  are  now  known  as  the  Tus- 
carawas and  Muskingum  rivers,  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  Their 
most  important  village  was  at  Coshocton,  near  the  site  of  the 
present  tov  m  of  that  name,  county-seat  of  Coshocton  county. 
In  the  Tusi  awas  valley,  Moravian  missionaries  had  stations, 
where  were  their  Indian  converts,  brought  from  Pennsylvania. 

In  November,  Henry  Hamilton  arrived  at  Detroit  as  lieu- 


JJiatory  of  the  OirtifB.  87 

tenant-governor  and  Indiiin  superintendent, ^i'  and  was  im- 
mediately importuned  by  the  IndiatiH  in  the  vicinity  for  his  as- 
sent to  their  making  inroads  upon  the  frontiers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  not  having  received  positive  orders  on  tlie  subject, 
he  declined  to  give  it;  so  the  evil  day  of  a  general  Indian  war 
was  postponed. 

In  Fincastle  county,  Virginia — that  is,  in  that  part  then  ly- 
ing west  of  the  Big  Sandy,  including  the  whole  of  the  present 
State  of  Kentucky — ^during  the  last  half  of  the  year  177;'), 
settlements  increased.  IJut,  from  the  first  appearance  of 
spring,  in  1770,  not  only  these  settlements,  but  the  more  nu- 
merous ones  on  the  head  streams  of  th6  Ohio,  ])egan  to  be  un- 
easy as  to  the  savages  beyond  that  river.  IJefore  this  time, 
Richard  IJutlcr  had  been  agent  of  Indian  affairs,  in  the  Mid- 
dle Department;  but,  on  the  10th  of  April,  ho  was  succeeded 
by  George  Morgan.  One  of  the  first  duties  to  be  performed 
by  the  latter  was  the  appointment  of  interpreters  to  assist  hira 
in  his  laljors.  Of  those  employed  were  William  Wilson,  Joseph 
Nicholson,  Simon  Girty,  and  Peter  Long. 

Girty  was  appointed  on  the  first  day  of  May  of  the  year 
last  named,  to  interpret  for  the  Six  Nations,  at  Pittsburgh, 
which  meant,  practically,  for  the  Senecas.  He  was  to  receive 
"  at  the  rate  of  five-eighths  of  a  dollar  per  diem  during  good 
behavior,  or  the  pleasure  of  the  Honorable  Continental  Con- 
gress, or  their  commissioners  or  agents  for  the  Middle  Depart- 
ment. '  He  was,  upon  all  occasions,  to  use  his  "utmost  en- 
deavors to  promote  the  public  tranquillity,  andmaintain  a  good 
understanding  between  the  United  Colonies  and  the  Indians," 
and  inform  Morgan  of  all  intelligence  which  might  come  to 
his  knowledge.     He  was  to  obey  all  of  Morgan's  reasonable 

*  In  1783,  Hamilton  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  commissioners  of  his 
majesty's  treasury,  in  which  ho  says  that,  "in  the  month  of  April,  1775,  I 
was  appointed  lieutenant-governor  and  superintendent  of  the  settlement  of 
Detroit,  at  a  salary  of  £200.  In  the  month  of  September  following,  Sir 
Guy  Carleton  sent  me  to  that  post  with  verbal  orders,  the  state  of  the  prov- 
inco  [of  Quebec]  at  that  time  pressing  my  departure."  He  did  not  reach 
Detroit,  however,  until  the  9th  of  November.  See  Michigan  Pioneer  Col- 
lections, Vol.  IX,  p.  490. 


38  History  of  (he  Girtys. 

and  lawful  orders  during  the  agency  of  the  latter,  and  faith- 
fully to  keep  secret  all  private  councils  between  the  commis- 
sioners, ajrents,  Indians,  and  himself,  so  far  as  the  public  good 
should  require  it.  He  was  also  to  visit  and  confer  with  all 
Indians  who  should  reach  Fort  Pitt,  so  early  after  their  ar- 
rival as  possible,  to  learn  their  business,  and  immediately  to 
acquaint  the  agent  therewith.  In  the  event  of  any  discon- 
tent among  the  Indians,  he  was,  at  once,  to  inform  Morgan  of 
the  fact ;  and  he  was  to  take  care  that  none  of  them,  on  any 
account,  should  be  insulted  or  injured  by  the  inhabitants.  lie 
was,  likewise,  to  be  equally  cautious  to  prevent  any  of  them 
injuring  the  inhabitants. 

Girty  was,  upon  no  account,  to  be .  concerned  in  trade,  or 
assistant  therein,  unless  when  called  upon  to  see  justice  done 
betweoii  traders  and  Indians.  For  extraordinary  services,  he 
was  to  be  entitled  to  further  reasonable  allowance,  as  the  case 
might  be. 

The  office  was  accepted  by  Girty,  who  engaged  to  fulfill  and 
comply  with  all  the  directions  imposed  by  Morgan,  to  the  ut- 
most of  his  ability. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  was  sent  once  into  the  Indian  coun- 
try.* However,  he  only  held  the  position  three  months ;  for, 
on  the  first  day  of  August,  it  was  found  necessary  to  discharge 
him  "  for  ill  behavior."  f 

*  Compiire  Journals  of  the  Old  Congress,  Vol.  II,  p.  467,  and  Girty's  ac- 
count, below. 

t  Historical  Register,  Vol.  II  (June,  1884),  p,..  165-157.  A  few  days 
after  his  dismissal,  Girty  rendered  the  following  bill  for  extra  pay  : 

"  Pittsburgh,  August  11,  177G. 
"The  United  States  of  America, 

"To  Simon  Girty,  Dr. 

"  To  a  horse  taken  by  Mr.  Geo.  Morgan,  and  given  out  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  public £20  0  0 

"To  casV  expended  on  his  jnurney  to  the  Indian  country,  [as]  per 

acct.  rendered  [below] 3  0  0 

"CASH   EXPENDED. 

"To  hire  of  horse 0  16  0 

"To  finding  a  horse  when  lost 0  15  0         

"To  rum  to  chiefs  of  the  Indians,  at  their  request 0  15  0 


History  of  ihe  Qirtys.  89 

Girty,  it  seems,  was,  sometime  after  being  relieved  from  his 
duties  as  interpreter,  sent  as  express  on  pul'ic  business  to 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  His  "  ill-behavior,"  it  appears,  was 
not  of  such  a  character  as  to  lessen  the  confidence  of  the 
AVhigs  at  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity  in  him  as  a  trustworthy 
patriot.  "  It  made  us  very  uneasy,"  wrote  a  daughter  of 
John  Montgomery  from  Carlisle,  on  the  13th  of  September, 
"  the  reports  that  we  have  up  here,  that  there  were  ten  hun- 
dred Indians  ready  to  attack  Fort  Pitt,  and  [that  the  attack 
is]  intended  in  a  very  little  time.  There  was  one  Girty  that 
came  express  here  and  asserted  it  for  truth,  and  that  there 
Avere  some  hundreds  of  white  people  killed  up  the  river.  A 
great  many,  including  myself,  believe  it  here."  *  Doubtless 
what  Girty  did  report  was  considerably  exaggerated  by  the 
time  it  reached  the  cars  of  the  writer  of  the  letter. 

It  having  been  determined  in  May,  177G,  to  hold  another 
treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Pittsburgh,  as  there  was  evidently  a 
constantly  increasing  bitterness  of  feeling  on  their  part  against 
the  Americans,  Morgan,  in  June,  sent  two  trusty  mes- 
sengers to  the  Shawanese,  to  urgently  request  them  not  to 
go  to  Detroit,  where  a  conference  was  also  fo  be  held  by 
Hamilton  with  the  savages,  but  to  await  Morgan's  arrival  among 
them.  The  latter,  on  his  reaching  the  Shawanese,  was  sui-cess- 
ful  in  keeping  that  tribe  away  from  Detroit,  and  in  getting  a 
promise  from  tliem  to   attend  the  proposed  council  at  Pitts- 


"  To  hcir.'.e  shoeing  0     3  9 

"For  meat 0    3  9 

"To  ail  Indian  whu  accompanied  me,  to  buy  legsjings  with..  0     7  6 


£3    0  0 


"  Aly  constant  wages  in  the  service!  hikI  extra  paj'  when  in  the  Indian 
country,  Air.  Morgan  knows;  it  i.«,  theretnre,  not  inserted  hero.     Errors  ex- ■ 
cepted.  Ills 

"Simon  -|-  Girty." 

MARK 

*  Mas^azine  of  Western  History,  Vol.  IV  (September,  1880),  art.,  "An 
Antiquarian's  Scrap  Book."  It  is  beiieved  that  the  "one  Girty"  mentioned 
by  Montgomery's  daughter  was  Simon  ;  as  his  coming  as  "  express"  indicates 
that  he  was  on  some  public  business,  a  duty  wo  do  not  find  his  brothers 
were  called  upon,  so  early  in  the  llevolution,  to  fulfill. 


40  History  of  the   Girtys. 

burgh.  He  also  sent  word  to  the  Wyandots  upon  the  San- 
dusky, inviting  them  to  be  present. 

Open  acts  of  hostility  were  now  begun  by  the  savages  in 
Kentucky ;  however,  when,  in  October,  Morgan  had  got  to- 
gether Mingoes,  Delawarcs  (including  Munceys),  Mohicans, 
and  Shawanese,  at  Pittsburgh,  they  all  gave  their  solemn  as- 
surance to  remain  neutral.  A  significant  circumstance  was 
that  no  Ottawas,  no  Wyandots,  Pottawattamies,  or  Chippe- 
was,  came  to  the  council ;  they  had  been  kept  aAvay  by  the 
activity  of  Hamilton.  His  policy  was  by  no  means  for  neu- 
trality, but  to  engender  hostility.*  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  the  Mingoes,  living  at  Pluggy's  Town,  a  lawless  gang 
who  had  no  representatives  at  the  Pittsburgh  treaty,  com- 
mitted a  number  of  depredations  across  the  Ohio,  between  the 
mouths  of  Grave  creek  and  the  Great  Kanawha,  killing  and 
making  prisoners  of  the  borderers  without  distinction  of  sex 
and  regardless  of  age.  And  now  even  the  Shawanese  began 
their  work  of  devastation  and  death — a  party  of  that  tribe 
killing  three  persons  in  Kentucky. 

During  the  year,  the  fortification  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Kanawha  was  rebuilt,  and  named  Fort  Randolph.  Fort  Fin- 
castle,  "  at  the  mouth  of  Wheoling,"  was  repaired,  and  occu- 
pied by  a  small  force,  its  name  being  changed  to  Fort  Henry. 

*  The  arrival  of  Hamilton  at  Detroit  was,  as  before  mentioned,  November 
9,  1776,  yet  Koosevelt  (The  "Winnini;  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  2,  note)  makes 
it  a  ypiir  latter:  "There  were  several  coiinoils  held  at  Detroit  during  this 
fall  [1770],  and  it  is  difficult — and  not  very  imiiortiint — to  separate  the  inci- 
dents that  occurred  at  each.  Some  took  place  before  Hamilton  arrived, 
which,  according  to  his  'brief  accnunt,'  was  November  0th  [1770],  He  as- 
serts that  he  did  not  send  out  war  ]iarties  until  tiie  following  June  [1777]; 
but  the  testimony  seems  conclusive  that  ho  was  active  in  instigating  hostility 
from  the  time  of  his  arrival."  It  is  true  that,  in  Hamilton's  Journal,  as 
published  in  1880,  in  the  Jlichigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX.,  pp.  48'J- 
616,  the  year  of  his  arrival  at  Detroit  is  not  given,  but  the  context  shows 
clearlj'  that  it  was  in  1775,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  outside  evidence 
extant  (besides  Hamilton's  own  words,  already  cited)  to  prove  it. 


ffistory  of  the  Girtys.  41 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Early  in  1777,  Neville's  force  at  Fort  Pitt  was  relieved  by 
Virginia  troops  raised  for  that  purpose ;  but,  on  the  first  day 
of  June  of  that  year,  Brigadier-General  Hand,  of  the  Conti- 
nental army,  assumed  chief  command  of  that  post. 

Not  long  after  Simon  Girty's  dismissal  as  interpreter  by 
Morgan,  he  exerted  liimsclf  in  and  around  Pittsburgh  in  en- 
listing men  for  the  patriot  army,  expecting  as  a  reward  for 
his  success  and  assiduity  a  captain's  commission ;  in  this, 
however,  he  was  disappointed ;  he  was  made  second  lieutenant 
in  Captain  John  Stephenson's  company  of  one  year  men. 
This  company  went  to  Charleston,  and  was  there  during  the 
attack  on  Sullivan's  Island.  Girty  did  not,  for  some  reason, 
go  south,  but  remained  in  Pittsburgh  on  detached  duty.  As 
late  as  July,  1777,  he  was  present  at  Fort  Pitt — still  a  sub- 
altern. "He  seemed  wholly  taken  up  in  intercourse  with  the 
Indians,  a  great  number  of  whom  were  in  and  around  the 
fort."  *  It  is  probable  that  his  influence  with  the  Indians 
was  the  cause  of  his  remaining  at  home ;  as  he  could  be  of 
service  to  the  country,  notwithstanding  he  was  not  regularly 
employed  as  interpreter.  He  resigned  his  commission  aa 
second  lieutenant  early  in  August. 

It  was,  at  the  beginning  of  1777,  the  first  and  great  object 
of  Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  to  keep  the  Ohio  Indians  and  those 
beyond,  firm  in  the  interest  of  the  king,  and  ready,  if  need 
be,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Americans.  The  sav- 
ages were  not  slow  to  perceive  the  general  trend  of  his 
thoughts  as  manifested  by  his  words  and  actions.  Again 
Shawanese  raided  into  Kentucky,  and  the  Mingoes  of  Pluggy's 
Town  were  particularly  hostile  on  the  border  of  what  is  now 

•See  Slatement  of  Frnncis  Dunlavy,  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Ex- 
pedition against  Sandusky,  under  Col.  William  Crawford,  in  1782,  p.  264. 


42  IliHtonj  of  the  Girtya. 

West  Virginia,  even  as  far  from  the  Ohio  as  to  strike  the  set- 
tlements in  South-western  Pennsylvania. 

Hamilton  had  proposed  to  his  superiors  "  the  making  a  di- 
version on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  by 
parties  of  Indians  conducted  by  proper  leaders  ;  "  and,  after 
maturely  weighing  the  proposition,  Lord  George  Germain  di- 
rected him  to  assemble  as  many  Indians  of  his  district  as  he 
conveniently  could ;  place  proper  persons  at  their  head  (to 
whom  he  was  to  make  suitable  allowances)  to  conduct  their 
parties  and  restrain  them  from  committing  violence  on  the 
well-o fleeted  and  inoff"ensive  inhabitants  ;  and  then  send  them 
to  make  a  diversion  and  excite  an  alarm  upon  the  frontiers  of 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania* — "to  let  loose,"  in  the  language 
of  Chatham,  "  the  horrible  hell-hounds  of  savage  war"  against 
the  exposed  settlements.  This  order  was  received  by  Hamil- 
ton in  June,  and  before  the  end  of  July,  two  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  braves,  in  fifteen  several  parties,  were  sent  out  by 
him.  He  had,  by  his  own  suggestions,  induced  Germain  to 
adopt  this  most  barbarous  policy,  which,  witli  a  iiastc  and  a 
zeal  bespeaking  his  delight  for  it,  he  was  now  successfully 
carrying  out.  For  the  Western  Border  War,  then,  with  its 
innumerable  horrors,  he  must  be  held  accountable. 

General  Hand,  soon  after  arriving  at  Fort  Pitt,  resolved 
upon  an  expedition  against  the  savages,  whose  depredations 
were  now  alarmingly  on  the  increase.  He  had  a  frontier  to 
protect  all  the  way  from  Kittanning  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Kanawha.  Below  Fort  Pitt  were  Fort  Henry  and  Fort 
Randolph.  Rude  stockades  and  block-houses  were  multiplied 
in  the  most  exposed  settlements,  defended  by  squads  of 
militia,  generally,  on  short  tours  of  duty.  The  general  was 
particularly  desirous  of  marching  against  the  Wyandots,  upon 
the  Sandusky  river,  in  what  is  now  the  northwestern  part  of 
Ohio,  and  the  Pluggy's  Town  Indians  on  the  Scioto ;  but,  for 
a  number  of  reasons,  he  failed  and  was  compelled  to  remain 
on  the  defensive  only. 

*  Germain  to  Curleton,  March  26,  1777,  in  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections, 
Vol.  IX,  pp.  346,347.       -   -•    - 


History  of  the  Oirtys,  48 

The  prini'ipal  aggressive  movement  of  the  enemy  during 
1777,  across  the  herder,  was  an  attack  on  Fort  Henry,  on 
the  first  day  of  September,  by  a  force  of  about  two  hundred 
Indians.  Fifteen  of  the  Americans  were  killed  and  five 
wounded,  when  the  assailants  withdrew  across  the  Ohio,  hav- 
ing suffered  but  a  trifling  loss. 

Although  Simon  Girty,  as  may  be  premised,  subsequently 
signalized  his  zeal  for  the  British  cause  in  a  manner  at  *^"mes 
peculiarly  savage,  the  western  settlements  had  not  as  yet  suf- 
fered from  his  cruelty ;  notAvithstanding  this  fact,  histories  of 
the  West  teem  with  his  (supposed)  exploits  against  his  country- 
men while,  yet,  he  was  dwelling  at  Pittsburgh.  It  has  Ijeen 
particularly  set  forth  how  ho  concentrated  an  Indian  array  on 
the  Sandusky  to  move  against  Wheeling  in  the  attack  just 
mentioned,  and  that  he  commanded  the  savages  in  assailing 
Fort  Henry  on  that  occasion ;  ■'^  but  tins  is  all  pure  fiction. f 

General  Hand  learned,  upon  taking  command  at  Fort  Pitt, 
that  there  was  a  distrust  amono;  the  Whifj-s  of  Pittsburgh  and 
vicinity  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  as  to  their  loyalty. 
One,  in  particular,  was  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  This  was 
Alexander  McKee,  who  had  been  deputy  Indian  agent  under 
Sir  William  Johnson  from  1772,  until  the  death  of  the  latter  in 
1774,  and  had  not  yet  resigned  his  office — the  same  person 
mentioned  in  Dunraore's  "  list."  McKee  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  that  part  of  the  province  lying  east  of  the  mount- 
ains, lie  early  became  a  trader  with  tlie  Indians,  carrying 
on  the  business  on  a  largo  scale  from  Pittsburgh,  in  conjunc- 

■' See  Amoricsin  Pioneer,  Vol.  II,  p.  305. 

f  Alrcuiiy  have  published  statements  sufficiently  exposed  this  falhu'v;  see, 
espfMally,  the  note  of  Isaac  Craiir,  in  the  Maitazino  of  American  History, 
Vol.  ill,  p.  613  (August,  1879);  still,  in  Appleton's  Cyclopcediii  of  Ameri- 
can Biography,  art.  Simon  Girty,  and  in  The  Story  of  Ohio,  by  Alex- 
ander Black,  p.  74,  it  is  repeated;  and  in  The  Winning  of  the  West,  it  is 
declared  that  "there  seems  to  bo  a  doubt  whether  [Simon]  Girty  did  or  did 
not  commiind  the  Indians"  at  the  first  siege  of  Wheeling  (Vol.  II,  p.  9, 
note).  But,  subsequently,  this  declaration  is  modifled  to  some  extent  by  the 
author  averring  that  he  does  not  know  whether  either  ["of  the  two  brothers 
Girty"]  was  at  the  first  attack  (p.  119,  note).  He  has  no  knowledge  of  a 
third  brother.    Neither  of  them  was  there. 


44  History  of  the  Girtya, 

tion  with  Alexander  Ross,  from  1768  to  1772.  He  had,  in 
1771,  upon  the  erection  of  Bedford  county,  been  appointed, 
by  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  its  justices  of  the 
peace;  and,  upon  the  organization  of  Westmoreland  county, 
in  1773,  his  commission  was  rencAved  for  that  county.  Upon 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  a  citizen  of  con- 
siderable means  and  influence  in  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity. 
As  early  as  the  9th  of  April,  1776,  he  had  been  required  by 
the  committee  of  AVest  Augusta — the  Virginia  name  of  the 
district  including  Pittsburgh — to  give  his  parole  not  to  transact 
any  business  with  the  Indians  on  behalf  of  the  crown  or  min- 
istry, and  not  to  correspond  directly  or  indirectly  with  any 
crown  or  ministerial  officers,  nor  leave  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Pitt,  without  the  consent  of  that  committee.* 

About  the  end  of  August,  1777,  General  Hand  found  it 
necessary,  both  to  appease  the  popular  clamor,  and  for  his 
own  security,  to  bring  McKee  from  his  farm  and  confine  him 
to  his  own  house  in  Pittsburgh.  On  inquiry,  the  general  dis- 
covered he  had  not  violated  his  parole  given  the  year  before. 
During  the  violence  nf  the  outcry,  he  was  anxious  to  move 
down  the  country  to  Lancaster  county,  but  he  soon  changed 
his  mind  and  desired  to  remain  in  Pittsburgh,  having  a  con- 
siderable interest  in  the  neighborhood,  but  the  real  reason 
will  soon  appear.  General  Hand  did  not  think  it  necessary  to 
refuse  him  his  request,  at  least,  until  the  sense  of  Congress 
could  be  learned  with  regard  to  the  matter.  He  took  up  his 
old  parole  and  gave  a  new  one,  more  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
committee.! 

The  reason  for  the  general  clamor  just  at  that  time  against 
McKee  was,  the  report  that  a  conspiracy  was  on  foot  to  mur- 
der the  Whigs  in  the  West,  and  to  accept  terms  which  had 
been  offered  by  Hamilton,  the  lieutenant-governor  of  Detroit, 
in  a  proclamation  issued  by  him  of  June  previous,^  and  that 


*  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  16;  and  see  the  authorities  there 
cited.  _  ,      ,^ 

fid.,  p.  17. 

I  This  proclamation  of  Hamilton  was  issued  in  obedience  to  the  orders 
of  Lord  George  Germain,  of  March  26,  1777,  the  object  being  "to  divide 


History  of  the  Girtys.  45 

McKee  was  one  of  the  conspirators.  Among  others  suspected 
of  being  in  the  plot,  Simon  Girty  was  one.  He  was  arrested 
and  sent  "  to  the  common  guard-house,"  He  soon  made  his 
escape,  just  to  sliow,  as  he  affirmed,  liis  ability  to  break  down 
the  barriers  interposed  between  him  and  his  liberty ;  how- 
ever, the  next  day  he  returned  of  his  own  accord  and  was 
again  locked  up.  lie  was  afterward  examined  before  a  magis- 
trate and  acquitted.* 

As  Girty  was  now  fully  restored  to  the  confidence  of  the 
Fort  Pitt  commander,  he  was,  during  the  fall,  sent  with 
messages  to  the  Senecas  living  upon  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Alleghany,  who,  there  were  reasons  for  believing,  were  now 
hostile  to  the  United  States.  Girty  would  have  been  held  by 
the  savages  as  a  spy  and  taken  to  Niagara,  but  he  managed 
to  escape,  reaching  Pittsburgh  in  safety  and  reporting  that 
many  of  the  Senecas  were,  in  reality,  on  the  Avar-path.  Sub- 
sequent developments  confirmed,  in  the  main,  his   statements. 

It  finally  came  to  the  cars  of  General  Hand,  so  well  authen- 
ticated that  he  could  not  wholly  ignore  it,  the  report  that 
IMcKee  was  really  making  preparations  to  leave  Pittsburgh 
and  join  the  enemy.  Thereupon,  on  the  2iith  of  December, 
1777,  he  requested  hira  to  repair  to  York  Town,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, there  to  await  further  orders  from  the  Continental 
Board  of  War.  But  the  wily  Tory  made  excuses,  and  he  Avas 
allowed  to  remain  at  his  home. 

the  attention  of  the  rebels"  in  the  East,  "obliging  them  to  collect  a  con- 
siderable force  to  oppose  him"  (Humilloii)  in  the  West.  It  was,  however, 
as  will  hereafter  be  seen,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  not  the  proclamation, 
which  brought  this  about. 

*  "The  grandfather  of  Kev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  of  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  who, 
during  the  Kevolution,  had  command  of  a  block-house  [probably  guard- 
house], in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  one  occasion  held  Simon 
Girty  as  a  prisoner,  but  the  date  of  the  event  we  are  unable  to  obtain.  He 
effected  his  release  by  pretending  to  be  friendly  to  the  Americans." — New- 
ton's History  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virginia,  p.  150.  This  must  have 
reference  to  the  imprisonment  spoken  of  above;  but  the  account,  it  will  be 
noticed,  says  he  effected  "  his  release  by  pretending  to  be  friendly  to  the 
Americans  There  is  no  doubt  of  his  genuine  friendship  for  the  patriot 
cause  at  that  time. 


46  Hwtory  of  the  Oirtys. 


But  little  is  known  of  Thomas  Girty  at  this  period.  At  a 
term  of  the  West  Augusta  court  held  at  Pittsburgh  on  the 
16th  of  January,  1776,  he  was  compellod  to  enter  into  bond 
to  keep  the  peace,  he  having  been  charged  with  threats 
against,  and  an  assault  upon,  the  wife  of  one  Samuel  Sample. 
And  ho  had  other  troubles.  In  the  court  of  Yohogana  county, 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  August  of  the  next  year,  a  suit  was 
determined  wherein  Ignaw  Labat  was  plaintiff  and  he  defend- 
ant. But  he  was  a  man  of  his  word ;  a  man  whose  oath  had 
its  weight,  as  is  made  certain  by  the  fact  that,  in  1777,  when 
a  band  of  traders  were  seeking  to  make  good  their  title  to  a 
large  part  of  what  is  now  the  western  portion  of  the  State  of 
West  Virginia — then  called  by  them  "Indiana" — they  took 
(on  the  tenth  of  March)  his  deposition  as  to  certain  matters : 
"Thomas  Girty  deposeth  and  saith  that  he  was  made  a  pris- 
oner by  a  party  of  Indians,  most  of  whom  were  Dolawares ; 
that  he  continued  at  the  Kittanning  'till  it  was  destroyed  by 
the  English ;  that  the  Delawares  removed  to  the  other  side  of 
the  [Alleghany]  river,  and  never  returned  after  the  Kittan- 
ning was  destroyed  to  his  knowledge ;  [and]  that  he  does  not 
know  of  any  settlements  being  made  within  the  Indian  grant 
['Indiana']  before  the  year  1768."  * 

*  Calendar  nf  Virginia  Statu  Papers,  Vol.  I,  p.  280. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  47 


CIIAPTEll  VII. 

George  Girty  lived  quietly  at  Pittsburgh  during  Lord  Dnn- 
more's  War,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  zealous  Whig  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution.  There  was  no  reason 
known  to  the  patriots  for  suspecting  his  loyalty.  As  a  citi- 
zen, he  was  not  without  some  influence  in  the  community. 
Like  his  brother  Simon,  he  would  occasionally  indulge  in  a 
spree  ;  but  he  was  b}'^  no  means  a  sot.  Early  in  tlie  year 
1778,  Captain  James  Willing,  with  a  company  of  United 
States  marines,  reached  Pittsburgh,  on  his  way  down  the 
Ohio.  Here  he  recruited  his  force  to  more  than  one  hundred 
men,  George  Girty  joining  his  company.  On  the  Gth  of 
February,  the  latter  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant, 
drawing  pay  at  the  rate  of  thirty-three  and  one-third  dollars 
a  month.*  lie  proceeded  with  the  capt.ain  to  the  Mississij)pi, 
on  a  predatory  expedition  against  the  British  planters  down 
that  river.f 

General  Hand,  in  command  at  Pittsburgh,  having  previously 
received  intelligence  that  a  rjuantity  of  stores  was  lodged  by 
the  British  at  an  Indian  town  on  the  Cuyahoga  river,  formed 
a  project  for  capturing  them.  Gathering  a  party  of  about 
five  hundred  men  at  Fort  Pitt,  mostly  from  Westmoreland 
county,  he  proceeded,  in  February,  1778,  on  the  expedition. 
It  was  the  first  time  the  Americans  marched  in  force  into  the 
Indian  country  during  the  Revolution.  Heavy  rains  falling, 
and  the  snows  of  winter  melting,  Hand  was  obliged  to  relin- 
quish his  design,  after  having  arrived  at  a  point  a  considerable 
distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Beaver,   on   the  Mahoning 

*  Potter's  American  Monthly,  Vol.  VII  (November,  1876),  p.  388.  S(!0, 
as  to  "Willing's  company  generally,  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series, 
Vol.  XII,  pp.  143,  216;  also,  some  of  the  current  histories  of  the  West,  ns 
well  as  histories  of  the  United  States. 

t  Post,  Chap.  XII. 


48  Ifistori/  of  the  Qirli/H. 

river.  Just  at  this  place,  Indian  tracks  were  discovered, 
conjectured  to  be  of  warriors  on  a  marauding  expedition  into 
the  settlements.  Tiiese  were  folloAved  to  a  canij),  "  supposed 
to  contain  between  fifty  and  si.xty  Indians,"  which  was  imme- 
diately attacked  ;  "  but,  to  my  great  mortification,"  wrote  the 
commander,  "  only  one  man,  with  some  women  and  children, 
Avas  found."  The  Indian  and  one  of  the  squaws  were  killed. 
"Another  Avoman  was  taken,"  adds  the  chagrined  and  thor- 
oughly disgusted  general,  "  and  with  dillicnlty  saved  ;  the  re- 
mainder escaped."  The  prisoner  reported  that  ten  Muncey 
Indians — Delawarcs — were  making  salt  about  ten  miles  fur- 
ther up  the  Mahoning.  A  detachment  was  sent  to  secure 
them.  This  enterprise  proved  even  more  inglorious  than  the 
first.  The  enemy  "  turned  out  to  be  four  women  and  a  boy," 
Avrote  Hand,  "  of  whom  one  woman  only  was  saved."  "  In 
performing  these  great  exploits,"  arc  the  felicitous  words  of 
the  commander,  "  I  had  but  one  man — a  captain — wounded, 
and  one  drowned."  This  enterprise  into  the  enemy's  country 
was  long  after  spoken  of  in  the  West  as  the  "  Squaw  Cam- 
paign ! "  - 

The  particular  incidents  of  this  expedition  have  thus  been 
narrated  because  of  the  fact  that  Simon  Girty  was  one  of 
the  five  hundred  who  went  out  under  Hand — the  only  time  he 
ever  actually  marched  against  the  foe  under  the  American 
flag.  He  led  tlie  detachment  against  the  supposed  ten  Mun- 
ceys  at  the  Salt  Lick,  showing  that  he  was  acquainted  with 
the  country,  and  had  been  there  during  his  abode  with  the 
Senecas  in  previous  years. 

United  States  commissioners  at  Pittsburgh,  who  had  been 
sent  there  late  in  1777  to  inquire  into  the  disaifection  of  the 
frontier  people  and  to  provide  for  carrying  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country,  recommended  to  Congress  that  a  treaty  be 
held  in  July,  1778,  at  that  place,  with  the  Delawares,  Shawa- 
nese,  and  other  Indians.  The  recommendation  was  approved, 
and  it  was  resolved  that  three  persons  should  be  appointed 

•  Washington-Crawford  Letters,  p.  66,  note;  Washington-Irvine  Corre- 
spondence, pp.  16,  16.  


History  of  the  Girlyn.  49 

to  negotiate  with  the  red  men.  But  the  coniniissioners  did 
not  await  the  action  of  Congress  before  sending  messengers 
carrying  presents  into  the  Indian  country,  ^vith  speeches  and 
invitations  to  the  savages  to  attend  the  conference.  The 
messenger  sent  to  the  Shawanese  was  James  (Jirty.*  lie  had 
returned  from  tlie  Indian  country  just  before  the  beginning 
of  Lord  Dunmore's  War,  and  had  since  remained  in  IMttsburgli, 
cnii)loying  himself,  generally,  as  a  common  laborer. f  His  se- 
lection was  duo  to  the  fact  of  his  supposed  loyalty,  and  of  his 
ability  to  speak  the  Shawanese  language  with  great  ease  and 
accuracy ;  besides,  he  was  personally  known  to  many  of  the 
tribe.  About  the  1st  of  March,  1778,  he  started  on  his  mission. J 
Additional  evidence  having  been  laid  before  Gener  il  Hand, 
during  the  month  of  January,  to  the  effect  that  Alexander 
McKee  was  making  preparation  to  lea\fe  the  country  and  join 
the  British,  he  wrote  him  as  follows  : 

"  Fort  Pitt,  7  Feb.,  1778. 

*'  Sir  : — I  am  sorry  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  repeating 
ray  desire  of  the  2!*th  Dec.  last,  viz.,  that  you  may  imme- 
diately repair  to  Yorktown,  in  Penn.,  on  your  parole,  there  to 
receive  the  further  directions  of  the  Hon.  Continental  Board 
of  War.  Edward  Hand. 

"Ale.xander  McKek,  Esq." 

As  this  order  was  peremptory,  it  was  only  by  McKee  feign- 
ing sickness  that  he  Avas  permitted  to  remain  in  the  W^est. 
Meanwhile,  he  was  secretly  preparing  to  take  as  much  of  his 
property  as  was  portable  with  him,  and,  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  start  for  the  Indian  country,  on  his  way  to  Detroit — 
his  ultimate  destination.     Simon  Girty  was  also,  shortly  after 

*  Waehington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  19,  26;  Hildreth's  Pioneer  His- 
tory, p.  12C. 

t  Pennsylvania  Colonial  Record,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  513-518,  where  he  is  so 
represented  at  that  date. 

%  Hildreth's  Pioneer  History,  p.  130.  Compare  Magazine  of  American 
HiBtory,  Vol.  XV,  p.  2G1. 

4 


60  Ilititory  of  the  Oirtya. 


his  return  from  the  "  Siiuiiw  Catnpni;^ii,"  aiJproachiMl  by  him 
witli  specious  arguments  to  induce  liim  to  go  ah)ng.  These 
wiles  were  successful  ;  and  it  recpiired  no  groiit  eflort  to  in- 
duce him  to  turn  against  his  country.  He,  therefore,  made 
preparations  to  join  McKee  in  the  flight  of  the  latter  to  the 
enemy. 

On  the  night  of  the  2Hth  of  March,  every  thing  being 
ready,  McKec  and  his  cousin,  Robert  Surphlit,-'^  together 
with  Miitthew  Elliott,  Simon  Uirty,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Iliggins,  and  two  negroes  belonging  to  MeKee — in  all,  seven 
])ersons — took  their  departure  for  the  Indian  country,  on. their 
way  to  Detroit. 

Matthew  Elliott  was  an  Irishman  by  birth.  He  had  for- 
merly resided  in  Pennsylvania,  east  of  the  Alleghany  mount- 
ains, and  early  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade — head-quarters 
at  Fort  Pitt.  lie  was  thus  employed  when  hostilities  began, 
in  1774,  between  the  Virginians  and  the  Shawanese  and  Min- 
goes.  Ho  remained  in  the  Indian  country  until  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Point  Pleasant  and  the  marching  of  Lord  Dunmore  to 
the  Scioto  river,  protected  by  the  savages.  He  was,  in  fact, 
their  messenger  sent  by  the  Shawancse  asking  terms  of  peace 
Avith  the  Virginia  governor.  After  the  ending  of  Lord  Dun- 
more's  War,  he  again  traded  from  Pittsburgh  with  the  Indi- 
ans beyond  the  Ohio,  continuing  until  October,  1770,  when  he 
was  overtaken,  near  wliat  is  now  Dresden,  Muskingum  county, 
Ohio,  by  a  party  of  six  Wyandots,  and  his  goods  confiscated. 
He  and  Michael  Herbert,  his  servant,  afterward  made  their 
way  to  Detroit,  where,  in  March,  1777,  the  former  was  ar- 
rested as  a  spy.  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  sent  him 
thence  to  Quebec  a  prisoner.  The  next  year  he  was  released 
on  parole.  He  then  returned  to  Pittsburgh,  by  way  of  New 
York.! 

*  See  The  Olden  Time,  Vol.  II,  p.  486,  and  Taylor's  Ohio,)).  450,  for  men- 
tion of  this  man.     His  name  is  printed  wrong  in  Wash.-Irvine  Corr.,  p.  17. 

1"  Hamilton  to  Carleton,  Ajtril  23,  1778 — MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 
This  letter  corrects  all  previous  published  accounts  as  to  the  status  o£  Elliott 
at  the  time  of  his  flight  with  McKee.  He  was  not  a  British  spy,  nor  had  he 
a  commission  in  his  pocket,  of  any  sort,  from  the  British  government. 


Iliitfori/  of  Inf  Oirfi/M.  51 


"Last  Siitiiiilay  iiiy;lit,"  HtiyH  ii  l(>tt(>r  written  I'loiii  Titts- 
bm-j,'li,  on  the  .'.(Uli  of  Marcli,  "Mr.  McKoe,  Matt.  KUiott,  and 
Simon  Girty,  together  with  one  Ilij^gins,  ran  off.  McKce's  con- 
duct on  tliirt  oceasion  is  of  ho  infuinous  a  nature,  that  it  will  for- 
ever rondcM' him  odious.  The  general's  [Hand's]  behavior  to 
him,  time  after  time,  when  he  was  ordered  lielow,  and  his  piti- 
ful excuses,  seem  to  infer  that  his  escaj>e  was  premeditated. 
His  intimacy  with  Elliott  has  been  very  great,  and  it  is  con- 
jectured that  Elliott  brought  dispatches  for  McKee  from  Que- 
bec. .\s  he  was  reputed  to  be  a  gentleman  of  the  strictest 
honor  and  probity,  no  body  had  the  least  idea  of  his  being 
capable  of  acting  in  so  base  a  manner.  A  man  of  his  capac- 
ity, and  80  well  ac([uainted  with  the  situation  of  our  affairs  in 
this  department,  will  bo  no  unwelcome  guest  at  Detroit."* 

Just  at  this  time,  (Jeneral  Hand  was  contemplating  -an  ex- 
))edition  to  French  creek  ;  indeed,  he  had  commenced  gather- 
ing men  for  the  enterprise  ;  but  he  now  wrote  Colonel  William 
Crawford,  who  was  to  take  part  in  the  movement,  that  it  would 
be  improper  to  proceed  any  further  with  the  undertaking,  ow- 
ing to  the  escape  of  the  renegades  to  the  enemy. 

McKee,  with  his  associates,  started  from  his  home,  at  what 
is  still  known  as  "  McKee's  llocks,"  on  the  Ohio  river,  below 
Pittsburgh.  It  was  reported  on  Saturday,  at  Fort  Pitt,  that 
they  intended  to  start  the  next  day  for  the  Indian  country ; 
whereupon,  General  ]Iand  ordered  out  a  lieutenant,  the  next 
morning,  to  arrest  them,  putting  under  his  command  a  small 
force  for  that  purpose ;  but,  before  the  detachment  began  to 
march,  information  was  received  at  Pittsburgh  of  their  flight. 

There  are  numerous  traditions  current,  a  number  of  which 
have  been  published,  as  to  the  reason  or  reasons  for  Simon 
Girty  going  over  to  the  enemy.  All  these  are  in  ignorance 
of  the  facts  concerning  his  journey  in  the  fall  of  1777  to  the 
Senecas,  and  his  joining,  in  February,  1778,  the  expedition 
under  General  Hand — the  "  Squaw  Campaign  *' — in  both  of 
which  he  demonstrated  his  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 
They  all  give  some  previous  (fancied)  grievance  as  the  cause 

*  T.  Ewing  to  Jusper  Yeates,  in  Historical  Register,  Vol.  II  (June,  1884), 
p.  15".  .  .  :;iir.'  )■"  tli/^;;:  ■'■-'>. 


52  Hktorij  of  the  Girtys. 

of  his  defection.  Thus :  he  tli<l  not  get  an  additional  allow- 
ance from  Virginia  for  his  trip  Avith  Wood  to  the  Wyan- 
dots  in  1775;  he  was  discharged  by  Colonel  CJeorge  Morgan 
as  hiterprctcr  in  1770;  he  did  not  succeed  in  getting  the 
chief  command  of  the  military  company  he.  had  assisted  in 
raising,  the  office  being  given  to  John  Stephenson ;  *  he  was 
arrested  as  a  conspirator  in  1777.  Not  one  of  these  was 
the  true  reason,  for  to  no  one  did  he  let  it  be  known  that  he 
intended  to  flee  his  country,  except  to  McKee  and  those  col- 
lected at  the  house  of  the  latter ;  and,  surely,  they  gave  no  in- 
formation. How,  then,  could  any  patriot  know  the  cause  of 
Girty's  flight?  However,  it  is  evident  that  the  recent  per- 
suasions of  McKee  and  Elliott  were  the  inducements  for  him 
to  take  what  he  subsequently  said  was  a  "  too  hasty  step." 
Beyond  this  it  were  vain  to  speculate.)- 

Great  was  the  consternation  all  along  the  border  when  it 
became  known  that  these  men  had  fled  their  country,  as  none 
could  doubt  what  their  influence  would  be  among  the  hostile 
savages,  to  whom  it  was  generally  believed  they  had  fled. 

"As  we  drew  nearer  to  Pittsburgh,"  says  one  who  reached 
there  soon  after,  "  the  unfavorable  account  of  the  elopement  of 
McKee,  Elliott,  Girty,  and  others,  from  the  latter  place  [Pitts- 
burgh] to  the  Indian  country,  for  the  purpose  of  instigating 
the  Indians  to  murder  [caused  great  excitement].  .  .  .  In- 
deed, the  gloomy  countenances  of  all  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, that  we  passed,  bespoke  fear — nay,  some  families  even 
spoke  of  leaving  their  farms  and  moving  off". 

"  Far  greater  was  the  consternation  of  the  people  at  Pitts- 
burgh," continues  the  writer,  "  and  especially  that  of  the  com- 
mandant of  the  place.  Colonel  [General]  Edward  Hand,  and 
Colonel  John  Gibson,  on  whom  all  eyes  were  fixed  with  regai-d 
to  future  safety.  Of  those  men  who  had  eloped  but  a  few  days 
since,  the  worst  might  reasonably  be  expected ;  their  disafi'ec- 
tion  to  the  United  States,  their  disposition  to  act  hostile,  the 
influence  they  would  have  over  the  minds,  at  least,  of  many  of 

*  Compare,  for  other  versions,  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition 
against  Sandusky,  etc.,  pp.  184,  200. 

t  That  Girty  subsequently  gave  reasons  for  his  defection  there  is  no  doubt, 
but  that  he  gave  different  ones  is  equally  true. 


History  of  the  Girfys.  63 

the  poor  Indians,  and  the  means  they  would  have  at  coniniand 
for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  their  evil  designs,  might  be  cal- 
culated on  with  certainty."  * 

But  desertions  to  the  enemy  did  not  stop  with  the  seven  per- 
sons already  named.  Others  were  disaffected,  including  some  of 
the  garrison  at  Fort  Pitt.  Several,  on  the  night  of  the  20th  of 
April,  stole  a  boat  and  Hed  down  the  Ohio.  Luckily  they  were 
overtaken  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  by  a  party  sent 
after  them,  and  the  ringleaders  killed  or  captured.  Six  of 
the  soldiers  and  two  citizens  escaped.  Two  of  those  taken 
were  shot,  one  hanged,  and  two  whipped,  receiving  one  hun- 
dred lashes  each.f 

"  I  am  able  to  inform  you,"  wrote  John  Proctor,  of  West- 
moreland county,  to  Thomas  Wharton,  president  of  the  Su- 
preme Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  2Gth  of 
April,  "  that  Captain  Alexander  McKee,  Avith  seven  [six] 
other  villains,  is  gone  to  the  Indians  ;  and,  since  then,  there 
are  a  sergeant  and  twenty  odd  men  gone  from  Pittsburgh,  of 
the  soldiers.  What  may  be  the  fate  of  this  country,  God  only 
knows,  but  at  present  it  wears  a  most  dismal  aspect."  X 

A  recent  writer  says  :  •'  Of  the  reasons  which  iniluenced, 
of  the  hopes  and  fears  which  agitated,  and  of  the  miseries  and 
rewards  which  awaited  the  loyalists — or,  as  they  were  called 
in  the  politics  of  the  time,  the  '  Tories  " — of  the  American  llevo- 

*  .Jdlin  Iluckiiwt'ldur,  in  liis  Niirrjitive  of  the  Moravian  3Iissions,  pp.  174, 
175.  It  is  surprising,  considering  tiio  narly  date  (18'J0)  of  the  publication  of 
that  book,  that  the  year  of  the  flight  of  these  men  to  the  enemy  should  not 
eince  have  been  generally  noted  by  writers  of  Western  history;  j^et,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  tlie  year  has  been  heretofore  incorrectly  given.  The  state- 
ment, virtually,  of  Heckewelder,  that  the  elopement  of  McKeo,  Elliott, 
Girty,  luid  others,  from  Pittsburgh  to  tlie  Indian  country,  was  "for  the  pur- 
pose of  instigating  the  Indians  to  murder,"  is  erroneous. 

t  Washir.gton-Irvino  Correspondence,  p.  18. 

t  Tennsylvanitt  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  YI,  p.  445.  It  has  been  pub- 
lished that  twelve  soldiers  escaped  with  the  McKee  party  (An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  etc.,  p.  184)  |  but  this  is  er- 
ror. The  facts  are  as  disclosed  above.  In  the  Magazine  of  Amc-ican 
History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  261,  it  is  also  said  that  soldiers  escaped  with  McKee. 
I  had  previously  corrected  the  mistake  in  the  VV^ashington-Irvine  Corre- 
spondence, p.  17,  note  2. 


54  Nixturif  (if  I  he    Girlya. 


lution,  but  little  is  known."  And  he  adds  :  "Men  who,  like 
the  loyalists,  separate  themselves  from  their  friends  and  kin- 
dred, who  are  driven  from  their  homes  [or  voluntarily  leave 
them],  who  surrender  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  life,  and 
who  become  outlaws,  wanderers,  and  exiles,  such  men  leave 
few  memoriak  behind  them."  *  In  a  marked  degree,  this  Avas 
the  case  with  Simon  Girty.f  Unlettered  (for  he  could  neither 
read  nor  write),  he  loft  no  papers  for  the  inspection  of  the 
curious.  Had  his  life  then  terminated,  his  name  would 
(juickly  have  passed  from  the  memory  of  men.  A  modern 
Moravian  historian  declares  that  "  Simon  Girty,  an  adopted 
Seneca,  an  inveterate  drunkard,  a  blustering  ruffian,  seduced 
by  British  gold  to  forsake  the  Americans,  whose  interpreter 
he  had  been,  was  now  espousing  the  royal  cause  with  all  the 
baseness  of  his  character."  %  But  it  is  error  to  say  that  he  was, 
at  this  date,  an  inveterate  drunkard,  although  he  occasionally 
got  intoxicated;  nor  can  it  be  said  with  justice  that  he  was  a 
ruffian  ;  as,  Avlien  sober,  he  was  not  inclined  to  be  quarrelsome. 
One  fact  may  be  noted — he  was,  by  his  friends,  very  easily 
persuaded.  That  he  was  "  seduced  by  British  gold  to  forsake 
the  Americans,"  is  a  groundless  charge.  lie  got  no  gold  nor 
the  promise  of  any.  As  to  "  the  baseness  of  his  character," 
he  certainly  had  not  at  that  date  a  general  reputation  for 
meanness — vileness — or  even  worthlessness  ;  but  he  was  now 
a  I'enegade — "  the  base  deserter  of  his  native  land" — faithless 
to  the  patriots,  with  whom  he  had  previously  been  identified, 
and  to  their  principles,  which  he  had  all  along  avowed. 
It  has  long  been  a  tradition  that  Girty  oAvned  landed  prop- 


*  Lorenzo  Sabine,  in  Riographical  Sketches  of  Loyiilists  nf  the  American 
Eevolution  (preface  to  Vol.  I). 

f  Sabine  (in  his  Biographical  Sketches,  just  cited)  puts  Girty  down,  along 
with  McKee  and  Elliott,  as  a  loyalist — that  is,  a  Tory.  It  will  be  hereafter 
seen  that  he  was  also  so  recognized  \>y  the  British  government.  It  seems, 
however,  rather  technical  to  call  him  such — yesterday  a  Whig,  to-day  a 
Tory.  He  may  be  properly  designated  a  renegade,  but  not  in  the  sense  of 
a  vagabond.  He  is  spoken  of  by  Canadian  and  British  historians  as  a 
refugee  loyalist;  and,  by  siimn  Aiiu'ricau  writers,  as  simply  a  refugee. 

X  The  Life  and  Times  of  David  Zeisborger,  by  Edmund  de  Schveinitz, 
p.  402,  citing  Taylor'.s  Ohio,  pp.  '281,  282. 


History  of  the  GirtyK.  65 

erty  in  Westmoreland  county ;  that,  at  or,  -  ♦  i;  •,  he  possessed 
a  hirgc  tract  at  or  near  llannastown  ;  and  that  the  property 
afterward  belonged  to  his  half-brother,  John  Turner,  being 
conveyed  to  the  latter  by  the  former.  But  Girty  never  pos- 
sessed any  real  estate  in  Western  Pennsylvania  at  any  time, 
as  the  public  records  show. 

Before  following  the  career  of  Girty  as  a  renegade,  it  is  to 
be  noted  that  there  is  a  tradition,  which  has  been  repeated 
with  many  variations,  that  he  was  at  one  time  living  at  Pitts- 
burgh Avith  a  woman,  who  was  his  reputed  Avife  ;  that  she  was 
a  half-breed,  whoso  f.ithcr,  a  white  man,  resided  in  one  of  the 
settlements  not  far  away  ;  that  she  was  a  tall,  pretty-looking 
woman  ;  but  that  she  was  frequently  treated  with  cruelty  by 
Girty.  Farther  than  this,  nothing  is  related  with  any  degree 
of  particularity.  Whether  or  not  she  Avas  alive  at  the  time 
Girty  went  over  to  the  enemy  with  McKee  and  Elliott,  is  not 
added  to  the  relation.  But  the  whole  story,  it  is  evident,  is 
fictitious. 

NoTK  I. — "All  the  Indian  in  Girty  impelled  hira  to  side  with 
the  frisky  companions  of  his  forest  life,  and  when  at  this  dan- 
gerous crisis.,  he  was  again  approached  with  specious  arguments 
and  seducti'  "  promises  by  Elliott  and  iSIcKee,  avIio  had  been 
for  months  in  the  secret  pay  of  the  British  commander  at 
Detroit,  the  untaught  creature  [Simon  Girty],  with  the  face 
of  a  white  man  and  the  heart  of  an  Indian,  and  with  no  feel- 
ing of  loyalty  to  any  flag,  either  English  or  American,  threw 
in  his  lot  with  the  savages  and  their  allies." — Magazine  of 
American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  261.  In  this  extract  are  con- 
veyed a  number  of  erroneous  impressions:  (1)  "All  the  In- 
dian in  Girty  "  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  determination, 
finally,  to  go  over  to  the  enemy,  along  with  McKee  and  Elliott. 
The  latter  had  resolved  to  join  their  fortunes  with  the  govern- 
ment which  was  oppressing  the  colonies,  and  they  induced 
Girty  to  go  with  them  ;  they  sided  with  the  Western  Indians 
on  their  journey  to  induce  them  to  become  the  firm  allies 
of  Britain.  With  the  Delawares  they  failed ;  their  success 
was  better  with  the   Shawanese ;  they  made  no   attempt  to 


56  History  of  the  Girtys. 

especiiilly  influence  the  Sandusky  Wyandots  while  on  their 
way  to  Detroit;  (2)  Elliott  and  McKee  were  not  then  in  pay  of 
the  British  commander  at  Detroit;  (3)  Girty  was  at  times,  as 
hereafter  shown,  ferociously  cruel,  and  exhibited  the  utmost 
savagery,  but  he  was  not  at  heart  an  Indian  ;  nor  did  he  leave 
Pittsburgh  to  tlu-ow  in  his  lot  with  "  the  dusky  companions 
of  his  forest  life,"  but  with  "  their  allies,''  the  British. 

And  the  same  account  also  says  :  "  Corrupted  by  Connolly, 
disappointed  in  his  military  hopes,  sore  over  his  discharge,  and 
too  much  of  an  Indian  to  be  moved  by  the  feelings  and  princi- 
ples then  stirring  the  patriotic  garrison  [of  Fort  Pitt],  but  little 
was  needed  to  induce  him  to  cast  his  lot  with  the  people  of 
his  adoption  and  their  powerful  employers/'  Why,^t  is  proper 
to  ask,  would  Girty  be  disappointed  in  his  military  hopes — 
why  sore  over  his  discharge  if  he  had  no  feeling  of  loyalty  to 
the  American  flag?  And  why  had  he  just  marched  under 
the  same  flag  and  with  the  same  garrison  upon  the  "  Squaw 
Campaign,  "  if  "  too  much  of  an  Indian  to  be  moved  by  the 
feelings  and  principles  then  stirring  "'  the  same  soldiers  ? 

Note  II.—"  On  the  night  of  the  28th  of  March,  1778,  three 
or  four  years  later  than  some  writers  claim,  this  now  notori- 
ous  trio  [McKee,  Elliott,  and  Simon  Girty],  together  with 
seven  soldiers,  fled  from  the  long  familiar  walls  of  Fort  Pitt, 
and  severed  their  connection  with  their  country  forever.  The 
date  of  their  departure  and  the  attendant  circumstances  are 
established  beyond  question  by  the  official  records  of  Major 
Isaac  Craig,  now  in  the  hands  of  his  grandson,  the  accurate 
and  accomplished  Isaac  Craig,  Esq.,  of  Alleghany,  Pennsyl- 
vania."— Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  261. 
But  McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty  fleeing  "  from  the  long  familiar 
walls  of  Fort  Pitt"  is  not  strictly  correct;  it  conveys  the 
impression  that  they  belonged  to  the  garrison  there,  which, 
of  course,  they  did  not,  or  that  that  fortification  Avas  the  point 
whence  they  started  for  the  wilderness.  How  the  "  official  " 
records  of  Major  Craig  could  show  the  date  of  their  flight, 
is  not  apparent,  as  that  officer  did  not  reach  Pittsburgh  for 
more  than  two  years  after. 


HiHtorij  of  the  Girh/n.  57 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

In  all  the  American  settlements  west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains  (that  is,  in  the  country  watered  by  the  Ohio  river 
and  its  tributaries),  there  were  not  to  be  found  previous  to  their 
flight  three  persons  so  Avell  fitted  collectively  to  work  upon 
the  minds  of  the  western  Indians  for  evil  to  the  patriot  cause 
as  Simon  Girty,  MatthcAV  Elliott,  and  xVlcxandcr  McKee. 
General  Hand,  therefore,  believing  they  had  gone  to  make 
their  homes  with  the  hostile  savages,  feared  the  worst  from 
the  arrival  of  these  three  men  among  them.  Especially  was 
he  apprehensive  that  their  wiles  Avould  induce  the  Delawares 
to  break  their  neutrality  and  immediately  declare  Avar  against 
the  border. 

Not  General  Hand  only,  but  Colonel  Morgan  prepared  at 
once  pacific  and  urgent  "  speeches  "  to  be  sent  to  the  Dela- 
wares ;  so  certain  were  they  that  these  savages  Avould  be 
visited  by  the  renegades ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  did 
go  at  once  to  Coshocton,  their  principal  town.  But  who  could 
be  found  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  delivering  the  messages, 
Avhen  it  was  known  that  there  Avcre  war-parties  of  other  tril)es 
hovering  about  the  frontiers  ?  The  question  was  soon  settled 
by  John  lleckcwelder  and  Joseph  Bull,  Moravian  mission- 
aries, offering  to  be  "  bearers  of  dispatches  "  to  Coshocton. 
These  men  had  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  anxious  to  obtain  in- 
formation concerni'ig  the  missionaries  of  their  church  Avhich 
Avere  located  in  th.'^  Muskingum  valley  as  at  present  knoAvn, 
and  in  the  valley  of  the  river  noAv  called  the  TuscaraAvas. 
This,  added  to  their  laudable  desire  to  serve  their  country, 
induced  them  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  trip,  Avhich,  it  may 
be  premised,  Avere  thought  greater  than  they  really  Avere. 

The  tAvo  Moravians  reached  the  TuscaraAvas  in  safety,  and 
IIcckcAvelder  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Coshocton,  Avhere  he 
found  the  DelaAvares  nearly  ready  to  take  up  arms  against  the 


58  Ilutorij  of  the  Girtys. 


Americans.  They  had  been  tohl  by  the  renegades  (who,  as 
we  have  said,  had  made  tlieir  town  a  visit)  tliat  the  patriot 
armies  were  all  cut  to  pieces,  that  General  AVashington  was 
killed,  that  there  Avas  no  more  Congress,  that  the  English  had 
hung  some  of  the  members  and  had  taken  the  remainder  to 
England  to  hang  them  there,  and  that  the  few  thousand  Amer- 
icans who  had  escaped  the  British  soldiers  were  now  embody- 
ing thcnisolvcs  west  of  the  mountains  for  the  purpose  of  kill- 
ing all  the  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio — even  the  Avomen  and 
children.*  But  the  missionary,  by  the  aid  of  the  friendly 
"speeches"  brought  with  him  from  Pittsburgh,  and  some 
newspapers  which  confirmed  the  capture  of  Burgoyne  and  his 
army,  soon  convinced  the  savages  that  they  had  been  deceived  ; 
and  the  visitor  was  welcomed  as  a  brother.  The  surging  pas- 
sions of  the  Delawares,  which  had  been  so  aroused  by  the  mis- 
representations of  Girty  and  his  companions,  soon  settled 
down  to  a  peaceful  calm.t 

But  where  now  were  the  renegades  ?  They  had  left  the 
banks  of  the  Muskingum  before  the  arrival  of  Ileckcwelder. 
They  had  done  all  the  mischief  in  their  power  while  at  the 
Delaware  town. 

Besides  inflaming  the  savages  against  the  border,  McKee 
had  written,  on  the  4th  of  April,  to  Lieutenant-Governor 
Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  informing  him  of  his  flight.  lie  men- 
tioned that  no  expedition  of  any  consequence  could  be  under- 
taken from  Fort  Pitt  by  the  Virginians  against  Detroit,  but 
that  they  meditated  some  attempt  against  the  Indian  villages 
upon  French  creek.];  "  Edward  Ilazle,"  wrote  Hamilton  vo 
Sir  Guy  Carlcton,  "  who  had  undertaken  to  carry  a  letter 
from  me  to  the  Moravian  minister  at  Coshocton,  returned, 
having  executed  his  commission.  He  brought  me  a  letter  and 
newspapers  from  Mr.  McKee,  who  was  Indian  agent  for  the 
crown,  and  has  been  a  long  time  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels  at 

*  .Such  is  the  account  given  many  yeiirs  after  by  Heckewelder,  which  is, 
doubtless,  an  oxaggerution  to  some  extent. 

t  Heckewelders  Narrative,  jij).  175-181. 

X  Hamilton  to  General  Curleton,  April  23,  ^778. — MS.  letter,  Haldimand 
Pajjerg. 


Iliatori/  of  (he  (Jirti/H.  59 

Fovt  Pitt.  At  length,  he  has  found  means  to  make  his  escape, 
with  tliree  other  men,  two  of  tlic  name  of  Gii'ty  (mentioned  in 
Lord  Dunmore's  list),  interpreters,  and  Matthew  Elliott,  the 
young  man  who  last  summer  was  sent  down  from  this  place  a 
prisoner.  This  last  person,  I  am  informed,  has  been  in  New 
York  since  he  left  Quebec  ;  and,  probably,  finding  the  change 
in  affairs  unfavorable  to  the  rebels,  has  slipped  away  to  make 
his  peace  here.""  '■• 

The  "  list "' of  '•  well-disposed  ""  persons  sent  by  Dunmoro 
to  Lord  George  Germain  was  inclosed  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton  in 
Canada  in  a  letter  dated  at  Whitehall  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1777.  "Inclosed,"  says  Germain,  "  is  a  list  of  names  of  sev- 
eral persons,  residing  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  recom- 
mended by  Lord  Dunmore  for  their  loyalty  and  attachment  to 
government,  and  who  his  lordship  [Dunmore]  thinks  will  be 
able  to  give  great  assistance  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamil- 
ton through  their  extensive  influence  among  the  inhabitants." 
On  the  21st  of  May,  after  its  reception,  the  "list"  was  sent 
by  Carleton  to  Hamilton.!-  To  those  who  imagine  that  Simon 
Girty,  when  he  tied  from  Pittsburgh,  was  little  else  than  an 
Indian,  the  statement  of  Lord  Dunmore  that  he  was  one  of 
the  number  Avhom  his  lordship  thought  had  "  extensive  influ- 
ence among  the  inhabitants  "  there,  is  especially  commended. 
Dunmore  was  personally  acquainted  with  Girty,  having  seen 

*  ilS.  letter,  A}iril  20,  1778,  Huldinmnd  Papers.  IIiizlo's  niitno  is  erro- 
neously i;iven  "Ilayle"  by  Koosevelt.  For  mention  of  Hiizle  in  ii  previous 
publication,  see  An  Historiciil  Account,  of  the  Expedition  njjftinst  Sandusky, 
p.  182,  note. 

t  -.Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  p]).  340-o48.  It  seems  that 
Hamilton,  either  from  a  misconception  of  ^fcKee's  letter,  or  from  erroneous 
information  derived  from  Hazlo,  got  the  idea  that  both  Simon  and  James 
Girty — "  two  of  the  name  of  Girty" — were  with  McKee  in  his  fliijht  from 
Pittsburgh.  Without  any  e.xplanntion,  the  account  as  it  stands  in  The  Win- 
ning of  the  West  (Vol.  II,  i>p.  4,  5)  contradicts  itself.  Roosevelt  first  speaks 
of  McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girfi/  fleeing  together  from  Pittsburgh.  "  They  all 
ihree  vn\rr3d  against  their  countrymen,"  etc.  (The  italicizing  is  mine.)  By 
"Girty,"  that  author  means  Simon  Girty.  A  foot-note  is  then  added  Ly 
Roosevelt,  containing  the  letter  of  Hamilton  to  Carleton,  which  says,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  that  McKee  made  his  escape  with  three  other  men,  "  two  of 
the  name  of  Girty." 


60  Jlitifory  of  the  (lirfi/n. 

him  at  Pittsburgh,  luul  having  employed  him,  as  we  luive 
shown,  in  his  division,  when  inarching  against  the  Shawanese 
and  Mingoes,  as  one  of  his  trnsted  scouts  and  interpreters. 

McKec  and  his  party  had,  as  already  mentioned,  left  Co- 
shocton. They  moved  further  into  the  wilderness,  away  from 
this  neutral  tribe,  to  one  already  in  great  part  in  arms  against 
the  border — to  the  Shawanese,  upon  the  Scioto,  to  a  point 
some  distance  down  that  river  from  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  lint  a  message  soon  followed  them, 
sent  by  the  Delaware  chief.  White  Eyes:  "Grandchildren,  ye 
Shawanese  I  Some  days  ago,  a  flock  of  birds  that  had  come 
on  from  the  East  lit  at  Goschochking  [Coshocton],  imposing  a 
song  of  theirs  upon  us,  Avhich  song  had  nigh  proved  our  ruin  ! 
Should  these  birds,  which,  on  leaving  us,  took  their  flight 
toward  the  Scioto,  endeavor  to  impose  a  song  on  you  likewise, 
do  not  listen  to  them,  for  they  lie."  *  It  was  in  this  emphatic 
but  figurative  language  the  Delaware  chief  made  known  his 
views  to  the  Shawanese  concerning  the  visit  of  the  three  rene- 
gades and  their  followers  ;  but  the  words  of  White  Eyes  did 
not  avail  any  thing  with  the  "  grai  dchildren''  of  his  tribe 
upon  the  Scioto. 

The  stay  of  the  white  men  at  the  Scioto  towns  was  some- 
what prolonged.  They  met  there,  James  Girty,  who  was  eas- 
ily persuaded  to  desert  the  cause  of  his  country  and  remain 
with  the  Shawanese.  He  at  once  committed  himself  to  the 
British  interests,  and  helped,  in  no  small  degree,  to  turn  those 
of  the  tribe  who  Avere  yet  wavering,  .from  all  thoughts  of 
peace  with  the  United  States.  lie  appropriated  tlie  presents 
that  had  been  intrusted  to  him  for  the  Indians,  and  was,  thence- 
forward, a  traitor  to  the  cause  he  had  beer,  so  recently  aiding. f 

On  the  23d  of  April,  Hamilton,  at  Detroit,  wrote  to  Carle- 
ton,  that  "  Ilazle  went  off  again,  to  conduct  them  [McKeo  and 
his  party]  all  safe  through  the  [Indian]  villages,  having  a  let- 
ter and  wampum  [from  the  lieutenant-governor]  for  that  pur- 
pose." 

*  Tleekewelder  Narrative,  p.  182. 

f  Conipure  llildreth's  Pioneer  History,  p.  130.  _ 


II is  fori/  of  the  Glr/yn.  61 

"Alexiuuler  McKee,"  adds  Hamilton,  "  is  a  man  of  good 
character,  and  has  great  intlucnco  with  the  Shawanesc;  is 
well  ac([unintcd  with  the  country,  and  can  probably  give  some 
useful  intelligence.  Jle  will  probably  reach  this  place  [De- 
troit] in  a  few  days."  -'■ 

In  May,  McKee,  Elliott,  Simon  Girty,  and  others,  departed 
from  the  Shawancso  towns  for  Detroit — the  point  of  destina- 
tion when  they  lied  from  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh — but 
James  Girty  was  not  of  the  party.  They  were  conducted  on 
their  journey  by  Ilazlc.  Their  route  was  through  the  Wyan- 
dot villages  upon  the  Sandusky  river ;  they  were  helped  on 
particularly  by  Snip,  a  Wyandot  war  chief,  from  the  Scioto. f 
One  of  the  Wyandot  towns — Upper  Sandusky — was,  at  that 
time,  located  less  than  three  miles  up  the  stream  (but  upon 
the  opposite  side)  from  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  the 
same  name — county  seat  of  Wyandot  county,  Ohio  ;  the  other 
— Lower  Sandusky — was  situated  at  or  near  what  is  now  Fre- 
mont— county  seat  of  Sandusky  county,  that  state. 

It  has  been  published  that  Girty  was  made  prisoner  by  the 
Wyandots ;  but  being  recognized  by  some  Scnccas,  the  latter 
demanded  him  as  their  prisoner ;  stating,  at  the  same  time, 
the  nature  of  their  claim  to  him  ;  that  he  had  been  adopted  by 
them,  and  had  n^'torward  returned  to  his  countrymen,  and 
joined  them  in  their  war  against  the  tribe  who  now  demanded 
him.  The  Wyandots  ignored  the  claim  of  the  Senecas,  so  the 
story  runs.  "  By  your  own  showing,"  said  they,  "  he  only 
returned  to  his  own  country  and  people.  After  that,  he  was 
not  yours.  When  again  captured,  he  belongs  to  those  who 
took  him.  This  was  done  by  our  Avarriors.  He  is  therefore  our 
prisoner."  Then  Girty  said  to  his  captors  in  the  Seneca  tongue 
(as  if  he  had  not  yet  learned  to  speak  the  Wyandot  language 
with  much  fluency),  that  he  had  been  badly  treated  at  Fort 
Pitt  by  his  own  people,  on  account  of  being  true  to  the  king 
and  his  cause,  and  that  he  was,  therefore,  forced  to  leave  the 
country,  and  that  he  was  now  on  his  way  to  Detroit  to  take 

*  MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 

t  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  450,  451. 


()2  Hinlory  0/  the  Girti/8. 

up  arms  iigiiinst  the  Americans.  He  was  thereupon  set  at  lib- 
erty.    But  all  this  has  no  foundation  in  fact.* 

Leaving  the  Sandusky,  McKeo  and  his  associates  had  all 
reached  Detroit  before  the  middle  of  June,t  whore  they  were 
received  with  open  arms  by  the  lieutenant-governor,  wlio  im- 
mediately engaged  Girty  as  interpreter  for  the  Six  Nations — 
he  t.lnis  becoming  a  regular  employe  of  the  British  Indian  de- 
partment, his  compensation  being  fixed  at  two  dollars  (sixteen 
York  shillings)  a  day.  That  this  was  the  pay  he  was  to  re- 
ceive is  inferable  from  a  list,  in  existence,  of  oilicers,  inspec- 
tors, smiths,  and  others  in  the  Indian  department  at  Detroit, 
dated  the  24lli  of  October,  1770,  containing  the  amount  al- 
lowed each  for  his  services.  Although  this  list  was  made  out 
more  than  a  year  after  Girty  reached  Detroit,  yet  there  would 
seem  to  be  no  good  reason  why  he  should  have  received  a  less 
amount  at  the  time  of  his  first  engaging  his  services  to  the 
British  commandant  than  is  therein  specified,  which  is  "  six- 
teen shillings,  York  currency,  per  day.":j; 

It  may  now  be  stated  that  Girty's  life  was  thenceforth  very 
largely  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  British  government,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly.  "  We  heard,"  wrote  White  Eyes,  from 
Coshocton,  to  Morgan,  on  the  19th  of  July,  "that  Simon 
Girty  and  Lamothe  [a  noted  French-Canadian],  were  gone 
down  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  with  as  many  men  as  they  could 
spare  at  Detroit."  But  Girty  was  not  sent  eastward.  Ilis 
field  of  operations,  as  will  presently  be  shown,  Avas  to  be  prin- 
cipally the  Ohio  wilderness  and  the  western  border  settlements. 

At  a  council  began  at  Detroit  on  the  14th  of  June,  1778, 
■with  the  Ottawas,  Chippeways,  Ilurons  (Wyandots),  Potta- 
wattamies,  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Miamis,  Mingoes,  Mohawks, 
and  others,  there  were  present,  besides  the  Indians,  Lieuten- 

*  See  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusicy,  under 
Col.  William  Crawford,  in  1782,  p.  186,  for  this  story,  given  to  the  public 
by  the  writer  of  this  narrative,  upon  l..j  assurance  of  William  Walker  as  to 
its  being  a  reliable  tradition;  but  it  is  now  known  to  be  wholly  fictitious. 

t  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  p.  442. 

t  Walker's  Address  before  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin 
(1871),  i).41.  _-    - ^ - — ,-—*--- ^ —  "• 


Hhiorij  of  Ih'.  Girli/n.  68 

ant-Governor  Ilainiltoii,  superintendent ;  Lieutenant-Governor 
Edward  Abbott,  bite  of  Vincenncs ;  Jehu  llay,  department 
agent;  "  Mr.  McKce,  bite  department  agent"  at  Fort  Pitt; 
Hcveral  oflieers  of  tlie  Indian  department ;  Captain  Ijernoult 
and  Lieutenant  Cablwell,  of  the  King's  regiment;  inter- 
preters William  Tueker,  Joseph  Drouilbird,  Simon  Girty  (not, 
however,  recognized  as  such  until  the  next  day),  Lsidore 
Cliesne,  Duperron  ]>aby,  and  Charles  J?caubin.  On  the  fif- 
teoiith,  it  is  recorded  that  "  Simon  (Sirty  was  then  brought 
forward  and  declared  an  interpreter  as  having  escaped  from 
the  A'irginians  and  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  his 
majesty,  after  giving  satisfactory  assurances  of  his  fidelity."  * 

That  ILimilton  should  have  favorably  looked  upon  Simon 
Girty  is  not  a  matter  of  Avonder ;  he  had,  as  we  have  seen 
previously,  heard  of  him  through  the  "list"  of  Lord  Dun- 
more  as  not  only  "  well  disposed  to  his  majesty's  governnient," 
but  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Virginia  militia  at  IMttsburgh.  Of 
course,  also,  he  was  vouched  for  by  McKee. 

McKee  was,  as  might  be  expected,  better  rewarded  than 
Elliott  or  Girty.  He  Mas  at  once  made  capr  in  and  interpreter 
in  the  Indian  department  ;t  also  subsec^uently  appointed  Indian 
commissary,  or  deputy  Indian  agent.  As  captain,  he  was 
thenceforth  known  as  an  "  Indian  officer,"  a  title  bestowed 
upon  all  those  who  had  previously,  or  who  afterward,  received 
such  an  official  niilitMry  recognition  (or  one  of  less  rank)  in 
the  British  Indian  L  lartment.  Elliott  had  to  abide  his  time  ; 
but  Girty  was  not  then,  nor  was  he  subsequently,  honored 
with  any  position  other  than  that  of  interpreter,  Avhich  was 
in  no  sense  a  military  office. 

A  recent  Avriter  declares  that  Hamilton  "  organized  a  troop 
of  white  rangei'S  from  among  the  French,  British,  and  tories 
at  Detroit.  They  acted  as  allies  of  the  Indians,  and  furnished 
leaders    to    them.     Three    of  these   leaders  were  the    tories 

*  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  442,  444. 
f  Id.,  p.  470.    Hamilton  early  commenced  appointing  persons  as  captains 
of  Indians.— (p.  433.)    . 


64  History  .of  Ike  Girfyn. 

McKec,  Klliott,  iiiul  [Simon]  (iirty/'-  Hut  the  licutcniuit- 
govoriior  did  not  organize  "  a  troop  of  white  rangers  "  at  that 
place,  nn  will  herciit'tor  ho  more  fully  explained.  Nor  was 
Simon  dirty  over  a  Icailcr  in  any  niilitiiry  <tr;;ani/,iition  formed 
cither  hv  Miat  ollicer  or  Iuh  suecessors.  ilamiltun  organized 
the  militia  tiiere,  it  is  true,  hut  neither  McKee,  Elliott,  or 
Girty  was  enrolled  therein.! 

James  (Jirty  did  not  reach  Detroit  until  the  middle  of  Au- 
gust. "A  hrother  of  Simon  (lirty  (the  interpreter),"  wrote 
the  lieutenant-governor,  "  who  made  his  escape  from  Fort  Pitt 
with  Captain  McKee,  came  in  a  day  or  two  ago.  lie  says  the 
Delawares  still  go  to  Fort  Pitt,  but  it  is  only  until  their  corn 
be  ripe  enough  to  allow  their  moving  to  the  head-waters  of  the 
Scioto,  a  place  pointed  out  for  them  by  the  Six  Nations.  If 
they  do  remove,  the  frontiers  will  repent  it  severely."  j"  James 
immediately  returned  and  took  up  his  residence  among  the 
Shawancse,  engaged  by  Hamilton  at  two  dollars  a  day  to  go  to 
war  with,  or  interpret  for  them,  as  his  services  might  be  most 
needed.  He  spoke  the  language  of  those  Indians,  as  before 
explained,  with  fluency.  Simon,  also,  in  obedience  to  instruc- 
tions, accompanied  James  to  the  Ohio  wilderness,  going  at  once 
to  reside  among  the  Mingoes  to  interpret  for  them,  or  to  go 
with  war-parties  of  those  savages  against  the  border,  as  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  might  demand.  Each  was  allowed  one 
and  one-half  rations  a  day,  and  presented  with  a  gun,  a  sad- 
dle and  bridle,  and  three  horses. 

Hamilton  found  the  two  (Jirtys  willing  and  effective  agents, 
as  will  be  presently  shown,  in  helping  to  carry  out  the  policy 

»  Koosevclt's  Tho  "Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  4. 

t  llooscvelt,  in  five  piiges  liirther  on  than  the  one  lust  cited,  gets  better  in- 
formation on  the  point  of  Simon  Girty's  emi)loyment.  "lie  sei'ms,"  timt 
author  now  assures  his  readers,  "  to  have  often  fought  with  the  Indians  as 
one  of  their  own  number." 

t  Hamilton  to  Lieutenant-Governor  H.  T.  Cramahe,  Au;j;ust  17,  1778 — 
MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers,  lioosevelt  says  (in  The  Winning  of  the 
West,  Vol.  II,  p.  21,  note) :  "August  17,  1778,  Girty  reports  that  four  hun- 
dred Indians  have  gone  to  attack  '  Fort  Kentuck.'"  Tho  inference  here  is 
that  it  was  Simon  Girty,  and  that  he  had  just  come  (or  returned)  from  the 
Ohio  wilderness,  which,  of  course,  is  error. _      .    ^    ._  _ 


ll'txlory  of  l/ie  ifirlijx.  05 

of  the  Uritish  f^ovormnoiit  (iniulc  more  cruel  \>y  lii.s  own  har- 
hiirouM  mctlio(ls)  toward  llic  Americans.  The  latitiulo  given 
liiin  ill  liis  instructions  was  taken  mlvantaj^e  of  to  make  more 
wMiitoii  anil  Iiloodtliirsty  tlio  war  tlicn  raging  along  tlic  west- 
ern liorilors  of  I'onnsvlvania  iiml  \  irginia,  ami  for  wliieli,  as 
lias  heen  shown,  he  wiis  directly  responsiliie.  Scalps  of  tliose 
wlio,  tn  the  iiKHiu'iit  of  receiving  the  fatal  Imllet  or  their  death- 
hlow  by  the  tomahawk,  were  unsuspecting  and  ludplcss,  and 
prisoners  of  all  ages  and  hoth  sexes  who  had  survived  the 
perils  of  the  march  to  Detroit,  wore  received  hy  i>iiii  from  the 
savages  with  delight,  which  immediately  afterward  would  find 
expression  in  presents  bestowed  with  a  liberal  hand  upon  his 
barbarous  allies.  Hamilton  attempted  to  justify  himself  by 
declaring  that  the  American  borderers,  by  "  their  arrogance, 
ilisioyalty,  and  impudence,  had  justly  drawn  upon  them  this 
deplorable  sort  of  war."  J>ut  those  exercising  cruelty  arc 
never  in  want  of  excuses  for  so  doing. ■'' 

By  the  middle  of  June,  177S,  the  government  of  Pennsyl- 
vania had  been  suiliciently  advised  of  the  d.ofection  of  the  two 
<iirtys,  and  of  Elliott  and  McKec,  to  proclaim  them  as 
aiding  and  abetting  the  common  enemy.  On  the  lifteenth, 
at  Lancaster,  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  state  or- 
dered tliat  a  proclamation  under  the  state  seal  be  issued,  de- 
claring that  Alexander  McKee,  formerly  Indian  trader : 
Simon  (lirty,  Indian  interpreter;  James  (Jirty,  laborer  ;  and 
Matthew  Elliott,  Indian  trader  ;  and  one  other — all  then  or 
late  of  the  county  of  Westmoreland  (among  many  more  in 
different  portions  of  the  state) — had  severally  adhered  to  and 
knowingly  and  willingly  aided  and  assisted  the  enemies  of  the 
state  and  of  the   United   States   of  America ;  therefore,  "  the 

*  Roosevelt  (Vol.  II,  ji.  87)  speaks  of  Hamilton  as  one  "wlio  merely  car- 
ried out  the  orders  of  his  superiors."  That  this  is  erroneous  there  can  be  no 
qiu'stion.  Ho  did  more.  Hut  that  he  offered  a  standing  reward  for  white 
scaljis,  as  has  been  stated  by  many  writers  (and  among  them  the  author  of 
this  narrative),  is  a  mistake.  However,  the  course  taken  by  the  lieutenant- 
governor  in  ainpl}'  rewarding  the  Indians  (though  in  the  form  of  ))resents) 
immediately  after  the  presentation  to  him  of  their  bloody  trophies,  was,  to 
the  savage  mind,  equivalent  to  such  an  offer. 

5 


GG  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Supreme  Executive  Council  aforesaid,  by  virtue  of  certain 
powers  and  autliorities  to"  them  "given,"  did  charge  and  re- 
quire Alexander  McKee,  Simon  Girty,  James  Girty,  and 
Matthew  Elliott,  to  "render  themselves"  respectively  to  some 
or  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  or  of  the  justices 
of  the  peace  of  one  of  the  counties  within  that  state,  on  or 
before  the  third  day  of  August,  and  abide  their  legal  trial  for 
adhering  to  the  enemies  of  the  country,  on  pain,  if  not  so  ap- 
pearing, of  standing  and  being  attainted  of  high  treason."''^ 

The  crime  of  ^IcKee,  viewed  from  the  American  stand- 
point, was  especially  flagrant  because  of  his  being  in  reality  a 
prisoner  to  the  patriots  on  parole,  and  of  Simon  Girty  because 
of  his  having  previously  accepted  a  commission  in  their  service 
and  taken  the  oath  of  office.  As  to  Elliott,  it  was  not  quite 
so  bad — it  was. simply  that  he  was  now  "  aiding  and  abetting 
the  common  enemy ; "'  so,  also,  as  to  James  Girty.  As 
neither  one  of  the  four  fugitives  made  his  appearance  before 
any  Pennsylvania  tribunal  to  be  absolved  from  the  charge 
made  against  him,  all  were  declared  guilty  and  adjudged 
traitors."!" 

Note  I. — That  a  letter  was  sent  by  Hamilton,  at  De- 
troit, to  one  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  upon  the  Tusca- 
rawas (in  the  present  state  of  Ohio),  naturally  awakens  a 
curiosity  to  know  its  contents.  It  was  dispatched  January 
11,  1778.  The  writer  of  the  missive  afterward  gives  the  pur- 
port of  it  in  a  letter  to  his  superior : 

"  Four  days  since,  a  young  man  [Edward  Hazle]  set  out 
from  this  place  [Detroit]  to  the  Delaware  towns,  where  a 
Moravian  minister  resides,  with  tl;e  uusign  of  engaging  him 
to  disperse  some  papers  signed  by  several  of  the  prisoners 
taken  and  brought  in  by  the  Indians — the  purport  of  them  to 
shew  that  persons  well  affected  to  government  may  be  assured 


*  ronnsylviiniii  Coloniul  Record,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  6i;;-ri8. 

t  This  is  evident  from  the  pi-litioii  of  .Tiitnes  McKer  of  the  18th  of  August, 
1778,  presented  to  the  Supremo  E.M'Cutive  Council  of  Pennsylvania.  See 
Pennsylvania  Colonial  I'pcord,  Vol.  XII,  p.  76. 


History  of  the  Girfi/s.  67 

of  a  safe  conduct  to  this  place,  if  they  will  agree  upon  a 
place  of  rendezvous,  and  that  an  officer  (of  the  Indian  De- 
partment), with  an  interpreter,  shall  be  sent  to  escort  them 
through  the  Indian  villages." — Hamilton  to  G  neral  Carleton 
[January  15,  1778],  in  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol. 
IX,  p.  432.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  it  contained,  in  ad- 
dition, a  request  for  the  missionaries  to  arm  their  Indians 
and  march  against  the  "  rebels."  But  that  he  actually  wrote 
the  Moravian  teachers  to  attack  them  indiscriminately  on 
their  farms  and  in  their  settlements,  slaying  Avithout  mercy, 
and  to  bring  their  scalps  to  Detroi*^,  as  the  exaggeration  of 
lleekewelder  has  it,  can  not  be  believed.  Hamilton  would 
not  have  so  written,  however  much  the  language  would  have 
been  in  accord  with  his  wishes.  Schweinitz,  in  his  Life  of 
Zeisbergor  (pp.  400,461),  not  dreaming  that  it  can  be  possible 
for  lleekewelder  to  "  stretch  the  truth,"  is  in  great  doubt  as 
to  the  genuineness  of  Hamilton's  letter,  notwithstanding  it 
had  "  an  official  seal  '  affixed. 

Note  II. — "About  1777  [spring  of  177S],  both  brothers 
[Simon  and  James  Girty]  had  been  [were]  seduced  by  the 
British  emissaries,"  says  an  Oliio  writer,  "and  are  known  to 
border  tradition  as  renegades.  This  is  hardly  just.  They 
should  not  be  regarded  otherwise  than  as  Indians  of  their  re- 
spective tribes.  Such  had  been  their  training — their  educa- 
tion. They  were  Avhite  savages — nothing  else." — Taylor's 
Ohio,  p.  2S2,  note.  Here,  however,  far  too  much  stress  is 
put  upon  the  previous  Indian  training  of  the  tAvo  brothers. 
They  were  not  then  "  white  savages — nothing  else."  They 
were  not  "  savages  in  every  respect,  except  in  the  color  of 
their  skin" — "white  Indians,"  as  they  have  also  been  called — 
when  they  left  Pittsburgh;  and  thej' did  not  ily  to  the  wilder- 
ness simply  because  of  the  cravings  of  their  untamed  natures; 
for,  had  their  sojourn  with  the  tribes,  which  had  adopted  them 
in  their  young  days,  caused  such  longings  for  the  Avoods,  they 
Avould  have,  years  before,  escaped  from  the  haunts  of  white 
men.     It  Avas,  to  a  great  extent,  the  influence  brought  to  bear 


68  Hisiory  of  the  Girtys. 


or  them  by  others  who  were  disaffected  (which  influence 
was  exerted  because  of  the  war  then  existing)  that  induced 
them,  in  1778,  to  leave  their  country  to  put  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  Hamilton  at  Detroit. 

Note  III. — It  has  found  its  way  into  print  concerning  Simon 
Girty,  that  "  although  he  called  himself  '  Captain  Girty,'  yet 
whether  he  ever  received  a  commission  from  the  British  gov- 
ernment as  did  his  associate  Elliott,  is  a  mooted  question." — 
See  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  San- 
dusky under  Col.  William  Crawford  in  17S2,"  p.  187. 
But  there  is  no  longer  a  doubt  on  the  subject ;  he  was  not 
commissioned  to  any  military  office — simply  hired  as  an  in- 
terpreter, as  pi'eviously  declared  in  this  chapter.  He  is  al- 
ways spoken  of  in  the  correspondence  of  the  commandants  at 
Detroit  as  "  interpreter,"  never  as  an  "Indian  officer;"  nor 
is  he  ever  calleci  "  captain"  by  them,  as  was  McKce  and  sub- 
sequently Elliott. 

Note  IV. — A  young  man,  John  Leith,  an  American  by 
birth,  who  had  been  a  number  of  years  among  the  Indians, 
and  who  was  then  at  Detroit,  reports  an  interview  which  took 
place  between  himself  and  Governor  Hamilton :  "  He  [Hamil- 
ton] said  ...  if  I  Avould  join  the  Indian  department 
under  his  command,  he  would  give  me  two  dollars  per  day, 
and  one  and  a  half  rations,  exclusively.  I  then  asked  him 
what  he  wanted  me  to  do.  He  answered  he  wanted  me  to  in- 
terpret for  them  [the  Indians],  and  sometimes  to  go  to  war 
with  them  against  their  enemies." — A  Short  Biography  of 
John  liceth,  by  Ewel  Jeffries,  pp.  9,  10.  See,  also,  a  reprint 
of  the  pamphlet,  by  Robert  Clarke  &  Co.  (Cincinnati,  1883), 
with  illustrative  notes,  pp.  24,  25. 

Note  V. — Hamilton,  with  the  opening  of  the  year  1778,  in- 
creased his  efforts  in  sending  along  the  frontiers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia  (in  the  last  named  is  included  Kentucky), 
"  parties  of  savages,  whose  reckless  cruelty  won  his  applause." 


History  of  the  Girtys.  69 

"  The  parties  sent  hence,"  he  wrote  on  the  15th  of  January^ 
to  Carleton,  from  Detroit,  "  have  been  generally  successful, 
though  the  Indians  have  lost  enough  to  sharpen  their  resent- 
ment." "  They  have  brought  in  seventy-three  prisoners  alive,'' 
he  adds,  "  twenty  of  which  they  presented  to  me,  and  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  scalps,"  which  bloody  trophies,  torn 
from  the  heads  of  men,  women,  and  children,  he  could  have 
said  with  truth,  were  also  given  him.  On  the  17th  of  Sep- 
tember, 177H,  he  wrote  to  General  Frederick  llaldimand,  that 
since  the  preceding  May,  the  Indians  in  his  district  had  taken 
thirty-four  prisoners,  seventeen  of  which  they  had  <lelivered 
up,  and  eighty-one  scalps.  Several  prisoners  that  had  been 
captured  and  adopted  by  the  savages  were  not  included  in 
this  immber. — Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  pp. 
4^1.  47G,  477. 

Lcith  relates  that  upon  one  occasion,  in  Detroit,  while  upon 
the  bank  of  the  river,  he  saw  Hamilton  and  several  other 
British  officers  standing  and  sitting  around.  "  Immediately, 
.  .  .  the  Indians  produced  a  large  quantity  of  scalps  ;  the 
cannon  fired ;  the  Indians  raised  a  shout,  and  the  soldiers 
waved  their  hats  Avith  huzzas  and  tremendous  shrieks  which 
lasted  some  time.  This  ceremonv  beino;  ended,  the  Indians 
brought  forward  a  parcel  of  American  prisoners,  as  a  trophy 
of  their  victories,  among  whom  were  eighteen  women  and 
children,  poor  creatures,  dreadfully  mangled  and  emaciated, 
with  their  clothes  tattered  and  torn  to  pieces  in  such  a  man- 
ner an  not  to  hide  their  nakedness ;  their  legs  bare  and  stream- 
ing with  blood,  the  effects  of  being  torn  with  thorns^  briers, 
and  brush.  .  .  .  The  governor  .  .  .  seemed  to  take 
great  delight  in  the  exhibition." — A  Short  Biography  of  John 
Leeth,  before  cited,  p.  11  (Cincinnati  reprint,  pp.  29,  30). 
Compare  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  7. 

NcTE  VI. — After  a  general  denial  as  to  Hamilton  having 
paid  out  money  for  scalps,  Roosevelt  erroneously  adds  (The 
Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  3) :  "  But  scalps  were  cer- 
tainly bought  and  paid  foi  at  Detroit,"  citing,  as  an  authority. 


70  History  of  the  Girtys. 

■which  is  now  known  to  be  wholly  fictitious,  The  American 
Pioneer,  Vol.  I,  p.  291.  Again  (on  p.  87),  Roosevelt  declares, 
that  "  undout'odly  the  British,  at  Detroit,  followed  the  [pre- 
vious] example  of  the  French,  in  paying  money  to  tlie  Indians 
for  the  scalps  of  their  foes.  .  .  .  Apparently,"  continues 
that  writer,  "the  best  officers  utterly  disapproved  of  the  whole 
business  of  scalp-buying  ;  but  it  was  eagerly  followed  by  many 
of  the  redcless  agents  and  partisan  leaders,  British,  Tories, 
and  Canadians."  He  also  says  (p.  3)  :  "  But  they  [the  De- 
troit commandant  and  the  higher  British  officers]  .  . 
connived  at  the  measures  of  their  subordinates.  These  were 
hardened,  embittered,  men  who  paid  for  the  zeal  of  their  In- 
dian allies  accordingh'  as  they  received  tangible  proof  thereof; 
in  other  words,  they  hired  them  to  murder  non-combatants  as 
woli  as  soldiers,  and  paid  for  each  life,  of  any  sort,  that  was 
taken."     This  last  sentence  is  error  beyond  all  question. 


Hutory  of  the  Girfys.  71 


CHAPTER   IX. 

^Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  migration,  imme- 
diately after  tlie  conclusion  of  Lord  Dunmore's  AYar,  to  the 
Kentucky  country,  and  tliat  the  people  there  were  soon  at- 
tacked by  the  savages.  The  year  1777  was  one  of  stirring 
incidents  for  that  region.  The  Indians  early  began  to  appear 
around  the  forts  Avhich  had  been  erected  by  the  settlers  for  their 
protection.  In  March,  a  large  war-party  appeared  before 
Ilarrodsburg.  Boonesbomugh,  in  April,  was  assailed;  then 
again  by  a  large  party  of  savages,  in  May,  but  without  capt- 
uring the  fort.  Soon  after,  a  party  of  forty-five  Avhite  men 
reached  the  place  from  North  Carolina.  On  the  thirtieth,  Lo- 
gan's fort  was  attacked. 

In  the  same  month,  burgesses  were  chosen  to  represent 
Kentucky  county  in  the  Virginia  legislature,  and  in  k  optem- 
ber  the  first  court  was  held.  Geor-jre  Ro^^jers  Clark,  conceiv- 
iiig  the  idea  of  capturing  the  Illinois  country,  sent  spies 
thither,  who  reported  to  him  the  condition  of  things  existing 
there.  lie  subsequently  went  over  the  mountains.  While 
there,  the  Virginia  authorities  determined  to  undertake  the 
conquest  of  the  Illinois,  then  in  possession  of  the  British, 
and  they  put  Clark  at  the  head  of  the  expedition.  The  I'e- 
sult  will  presently  be  given. 

During  this  year,  so  severe  and  disastrous  had  been  the  ag- 
gression'; of  the  Indians,  that  many  of  the  settlers  became 
discouraged — in  fact,  only  three  settlements  proved  perma- 
nent: "  Harrodotown,"  Boonesborough,  and  Logan's  f)rt. 
8iiaon  Kenton,  soon  to  be  more  particularly  mentioned,  was 
employed  mainly  as  a  spy  to  give  the  forts  timely  notice  of 
the  approach  of  the  savages. 

In  tlie  early  part   of  the   year,  1778,  Indian   marauds  were 


72  TriHfori/  of  the  Girhjx. 

more  than  usually  successful.  Daniel  Boone  •'•  anil  twenty- 
seven  others  Avere  captured.  Boone,  who  had  been  taken 
across  the  Ohio,  havin<;  kiiowledjie  of  the  assemblinij  of  a 
large  number  of  warriors  with  the  avowed  intention  of  at- 
tacking Boonesborough,  made  his  escape  and  reached  the  post 
in  time  to  save  it  and  the  others  from  capture. 

In  January,  Clark,  now  a  lieutenant-colonel,  arrived  from 
the  Virginia  capital,  in  the  settlements  upoii  tjio  Monongahcla, 
to  enlist  soldiers  for  the  enterprise  against  the  Illinois.  By 
the  end  of  the  month,  ho  had  all  his  recruiting  parties  prop- 
erly disposed,  and,  at  lledstone-old-fort,  he  prepared  boats, 
light  artillery,  and  ammunition.  Many  of  the  backwoodsmen 
opposed  the  undertaking;  and  he  only  succeeded  in  collecting, 
with  some  aid  east  of  the  mountains,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  when,  on  the  12th  of  May,  he  "  set  sail  for  the 
falls  "  of  the  Ohio,  "  leaving  the  country,"  he  wrote,  "  in  great 
confusion — much  distressed  by  the  Indians."  "  General 
Hand,"  he  added.  "  pleased  with  my  intentions,  furnished  me 
with  every  necessary  I  wanted."  lie  was  reinforced,  on  his 
Avay  down  the  river,  by  a  small  number  of  troops  at  Fort 
Randolph.  His  men  were  mostly  Virginians,  and  all  were  in 
the  Virginia  service.  The  result  was  the  capture  of  Fort 
Gage  and  the  Illinois  towns — a  conquest,  as  it  proved,  of  great 
importance  to  the  United  States,  and  one  reflecting  much  credit 
upon  Virginia.  An  envoy  sent  by  Clark  to  Vincennes,  upon  the 
"Wabash,  where  there  were  no  British  troops  stationed,  induced 
its  inhabitants  to  side  with  the  Americans,  and  Weatanon, 
further  up  that  river,  was  also  captured  by  a  small  force ;  so 
that,  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  the  reduction  of  the  Illinois 
and  Wabash  settlements  was  complete. 

With  Clark,  in  his  march  to  the  Illinois  country,  went  Simon 
Kenton,  who  had  joined  the  former  on  his  way  down  the  Ohio.f 


*  Roosevelt,  in  The  Winning  of  the  West,  siiells  the  niinie  of  this  Ken- 
tucljy  Pioneer  without  nn  e.  But  "  Hoone"  is  too  firmly  established  ever  to 
be  clinnged. 

t  Jfany  writors,  in  giving  the  paitiriiliirs  of  Simon  Kenton's  life,  speak  of 
his  playing  a  prominent  part  under  Cliirk  in  ilm  csijitiire  of  (lie  Illinois. 
All  such  traditions  which  have  found   their  way  into  print  are  wholly  erro- 


Hiatory  of  the  Girfi/s.  78 

Kenton,  before  the  capture  of  Vincennes,  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky, when,  with  Boone  and  nineteen  men,  he  undertook  an 
expedition  in  a  small  way  against  the  Shawancse  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Ohio.  The  party  mot  a  number  of  Indians,  and 
put  tliem  to  ilight.  This  was  followod  by  an  immediate  but 
unsuccessful  attack,  on  the  part  of  he  Indians,  against  Booncs- 
borough.  Kenton  then  lay  about  the  last-named  fort  and 
Logan's  until  inactivity  became  irksome  to  him  ;  so,  about  the 
1st  of  September,  1778,  he  prepared  for  another  foray  across 
the  Ohio.  Alexander  Montgomery  and  (Jeorge  Clark  joined 
him,  and  they  set  oft'  for  the  Indian  country,  not  so  much  for 
the  purpose  of  killing  savages  as  of  obtaining  horses  from 
them.  The  result  of  their  expedition  -will  presently  be 
shown. 

It  was,  as  we  have  already  seen,  understood  by  Hamilton, 
at  Detroit,  that  Simon  Girty  and  liis  brother,  James,  were  not 
to  remain  passive  with  the  tribes  they  were  to  join  in  the  Ohio 
wilderness,  but  each  was  to  do  the  best  possible  service,  either 
in  interpreting  or  fighting — Simon  to  go  to  the  Mingoes,  and 
James  to  return  to  the  Shawanesc.  And  it  has  also  been  ex- 
plained that  they  took  up  their  residence  with  the  tribes  just 
mentioned.  The  villages  of  the  ]\Iingoes  were  to  be  seen  as 
far  down  the  Scioto  as  what  is  now  Columbus,  the  capital  of 
Ohio,  and  up  that  river  to  its  head  streams,  while  some  were 
located  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mad  river,  a  tributary  of 
the  Great  Miami.  There  were  two  principal  routes  from 
Detroit  to  the  Mingo  country,  one  down  the  Detroit  river 
and  across  the  head  of  Lake  Erie  to  the  Sandusky  bay, 
thence  up  the  Sandusky  river  and  across  a  portage  to  the 
waters  of  the  Scioto  ;  another  ran  around  the  west  end  of 
the  lake,  crossing  the  Maumee,  and  leading  thence  to  the 
Mingo  towns.  The  Shawanese  occupied  a  more  extensive  re- 
gion. Their  villages  were  not  only  upon  the  lower  Scioto,  but 
westward  upon  the  two  Miami  rivers.  In  the  Mad  river 
country,  there  were  several.     The  routes  to  them  from  Detroit 


neous.    In  the  various  accounts  of  that  expedition  given   by  Clark  himself, 
Kenton's  name  is  not  once  mentioned. 


74  Historij  of  l/ic   OhiijH. 

were  but  continuations  of  those  to  the  homes  of  the  Mingoes, 
leading  on  further  southward  and  south-eastward.-'' 

When  the  two  Girtys  had  reached  the  Indian  tribes  to  which 
they  liad  been  accredited  by  Hamilton,  neither  had  yet  im- 
bued his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  countrymen.  Neither  one 
had  marched,  as  yet,  against  the  border  to  kill  and  destroy. 
But  a  Avar-party  was  now  made  up,  and  the  two,  with  one 
John  Ward,  and  a  number  of  Mingoes  and  Shawanese,  started 
for  a  maraud  into  Kentucky.  <>f  the  particulars  of  this  ad- 
venture we  know  noth  ng  further  ban  that  it  resulted  in  the 
taking  of  seven  scalp.^  and  the  bringing  of  a  INFrs.  Mary 
Kennedy  and  seven  child)  en  as  captives  into  the  Avilderness.f 
The  three  white  men  and  the  Indians  returned  to  the  Shaw- 
anese villages,  and  were  received  with  yells  of  delight  by  the 
savages.  The  two  Girtys  and  Ward,  pnssing  ouAvard,  finally, 
with  one  Indian,  reaching  Wapatomica,  an  Indian  town,J  where 
a  council  was  being  held  by  the  Shawanese  over  a  prisoner, 
particulars  of  whose  capture  it  is  now  our  ]iurpose  to  relate, 
not,  however,  until  the  circumstances  under  which  Simon  and 
James  Girty  commenced  their  death-dealing  career  in  the  set- 
tlements southward  across  the  Ohio  are  briefly  considered. 

The  language  of  the  British  minister,  in  his  instructions  to 
Hamilton,  to  place  "  proper  persons  "  at  the  head  of  the  sav- 
ages, "  to  conduct  their  parties  and  restrain  them  from  com- 
mitting violence  on  the  well-affected  and  inoffensive  inhabit- 

*  Ilooscvelt,  in  Tho  Winnins^  of  tho  West,  Vol.  11,  p.  143,  classes  the 
SliuwHiiese  iilong  with  other  trilu!.?  us  "  SHndiisky  Imlinns."  ]5iit  no  Slmw- 
ane.si!  ever  dwell  U|ion  the  Siindiisky  or  iiny  of  its  trilmtiiries. 

t  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure,  h\  John  A.  McClung  (Philsidelphiiii 
1882),  p.  115.  This  work  is  not  nlwiiys  to  1  ■  de)wnded  upon.  However, 
the  iicoount  very  brieflj-  given  ol'  th<!  two  Girtys'  first  lulventuro  upon  the 
\viir-i)nth  seems  to  be  entitled  to  full  <;redit.  One  f:iet  stilted  above  is  from 
iitiother  authority. 

X  .Synonynis;  Waiipatomica,  Waukataumikeo,  Wagetomiea,  Wapatomika, 
Wiikiitomika,  Wachatomakak,  WaecotomicH,  Wakitamiki,  "Waughcotomoco. 
It  was  sometimes  s])oken  of  during  the  Kevolution  as  "the  up))or  Shawa- 
nese village,"  from  its  being  the  u])iicrmost  upon  any  of  the  tributaries  of 
the  Great  Miami.  It  was,  of  course,  the  nearest  of  any  to  Detroit.  It  was 
the  head-quarters  of  James  Girty. 


Jlifilori/  of  the  GlrfijH.  75 

ants  "  wag  plain  cnou^li,  l)ut  was  wliolly  disregarded  by  the 
lieutenant-governor.  J?y  him,  many  persons  of  little  or  no 
character,  but  who  had  a  strong  liking  for  Indians  generally 
and  for  their  savage  ways,  were  engaged  to  go  to  war  as  lead- 
ers of  the  Indians,  when  the  probabilities  all  were  that,  instead 
of  restraining  their  dusky  associates,  they  would  only  strive 
to  vie  with  them  in  their  deeds  of  cruelty  toward  the  "  in- 
olTensive"  borderers.  Simon  and  James  Girty  had  long  been 
intimate  Avith  Indians,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that,  under  the 
direction  and  at  the  request  of  Hamilton  to  go  to  Avar  Avhcn 
expedient,  they  soon  took  up  the  hatchet,  and  along  with  Min- 
goes  and  Shawancse  marauded  into  the  exposed  settlements 
of  Kentucky. 

That  tlie  journey  of  the  two  brothers  to  Detroit  when  they 
first  placed  themselves  under  the  lieutenant-governor  there, 
Avas  not  made  Avith  any  intention  of  going  upon  the  Avar-path 
along  Avith  the  savage  allies  of  IJritain,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe.  If  they  had  had  a  particular  desire  at  the  time 
tliey  Avere  in  the  Ohio  Avilderncss  before  seeing  Hamilton  to 
tomahaAvk  and  scalp  their  OAvn  countrymen,  Avhy  did  they  not 
at  once  join  the  Indians  at  the  Scioto  towns  for  that  purpose  ? 
The  lieutenant-governor,  then,  Avas  directly  responsible  for 
encouraging — nay,  requiring — the  tAVo  Girtys  (as  he  had  al- 
ready others),  to  go  Avith  the  Indians  against  the  American 
settlements.  IIoav  ferociously  they  subsequently  performed 
this  duty  that  had  been  assigned  them,  may  be  imagined  by 
tlie  success  attending  their  first  foray  across  the  Ohio.  It 
is  especially  erroneous  to  suppose  that  Avhen  Simon  Girty  left 
his  countrymen  for  good  that  he  did  so  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  returning  to  savage  life — simply  to  go  back  to  the 
Indians  to  live  Avith  them.  This,  hoAvever,  has  heretofore 
been  the  prevailing  idea.* 

•  See  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky  Under 
Col.  William  Crawford  in  1782,  pp.  184,  185.  Compare  "Girty.  The  White 
Indian,"  in  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  200,  261. 

"Ho  [Girty]  soon  returned  to  the  Indians  [after  Lord  Diinmore's  "War]," 
saya  lloosevelt  (The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  I,  p.  220),  "and  dwelt 
among  them  ever  afterwards,  the  most  inveterate  foe  o'J  the  Avhites  that  was 


76  Hidory  of  the  Girti/H. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Kenton,  when  ho  left  Boone's 
Station  to  eross  the  Ohio  into  the  Indian  country,  had  for  his 
companions  Alexander  Montgomery  and  George  Clark.  The 
party  after  crossing  the  river  proceeded  cautiously  toward  llio 
Shawanese  village  of  Chillicothe,  fre([uently  callcil  in  early 
accounts  "Old  Chillicothe,"'  locate<l  upon  the  upper  'vaters  of 
the  Little  Miami,  three  miles  north  of  what  is  now  Xenia, 
Ohio.  It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  the  Chillicuthe 
toward  which  Kenton  and  his  com))anions  made  their  way  was 
the  one  known  as  Old  Town,  in  what  is  now  Ross  county,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Frankfort ;  such,  however,  was  not  the 
fact,  as  will  hereafter  be  seen. 

In  the  night  they  fell  in  with  some  horses  that  were  feeding 
in  the  rich  prairies.  The  adventurers  were  prepared  Avith  salt 
and  halters,  still  they  had  much  dilliculty  in  catching  the  ani- 
mals. Seven  were  secured,  and  the  whole  were  started  with 
all  speed  for  the  Ohio,  the  party  reaching  the  river  near  the 
mouth  of  Eagle  creek,  in  what  is  now  BroAvn  county,  Ohio. 
The  horses,  because  of  a  strong  wind  blowing  at  the  time, 
which  raised  the  waves  high,  could  not  bo  urged  to  take  the 
water.  Upon  the  bank  of  the  stream,  therefore,  Kenton  and 
his  companions  remained  until  the  next  day,  when  their  efforts 
to  cross  to  the  Kentucky  side  were  equally  futile.  As  there 
could  bo  no  doubt  but  that  they  were  now  pursued  by  the  sav- 
ages, no  time  was  to  be  lost;  so  they  undertook  to  make  the 
best  of  their  way  down  the  river  to  the  falls,  but  it  was  too 
late;  the  Indians  were  upon  them.  Kenton  was  captured, 
Montgomery  was  killed  and  scalped,  but  Clark  made  his  es- 
cape, reaching  Logan's  Station  in  safety. 

The  savages  started  the  next  day  for  their  towns,  but  not 
until  Kenton  had  been  tied  Mazeppa-like  upon  the  back  of 
one  of  their  wildest  horses,  which  was  then  turned  loose  for 
the   amusement  of  the   Indians.     The   animal,  after  running, 

to  he  found  in  nil  the  tribes.  He  lived  to  bo  a  very  old  nmn,  and  is  said  to 
have  died  figliting  his  iincient  foes  and  kinsmen,  the  Americans,  in  our 
second  war  acaiiist  the  British."  In  this  extract  there  are  radical  errors, 
which  are  sufficiently  corrected  in  subsequent  chapters  of  this  narrative. 


History  of  the  Girfys.  77 


pluiigini^,  roarini^,  iiml  kickiiii;,  iiiiiilly  ,«ul)niitttMl  to  its  hurdcn, 
;n)(l  quiotly  followed  tlio  others.  Just  before  reachiii;^  Cliilli- 
cotlie,  the  population  of  the  place  came  out  to  see  the  pris- 
oner, and  he  received  a  terrible  beating  at  tlioir  hands.  After 
this,  he  was  forced  to  run  the  <:;auiitlot,  which  cainc!  near  put- 
ting an  end  to  his  existence.  When  he  had  somewhat  revived, 
he  was  given  something  to  eat  and  some  water  to  drink.  It 
was  now  determined  that  he  should  be  tortured  to  death  at 
t'.e  stake,  but  not  there. 

Kenton  was  then  taken  first  to  Piqua  (sometimes  in  early 
histories  incorrectly  spelled  Pickaway),  which  was  about 
twelve  mile^j  in  a  northerly  direction  from  Chillicuthe,  and  on 
the  north  baidc  of  the  Mad  river,  five  miles  west  of  the  pres- 
ent site  of  (Springfield,  in  Clark  county,  Ohio ;  thence  to  Mac- 
a-chack  (or  Mac-a-cheek,  as  it  is  now  written),  near  what  is 
now  West  Liberty,  in  the  same  state.  At  both  these  Indian 
villages,  he  V  as  again  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet.  While 
at  the  one  last  mentioned,  he  cauio  very  near  making  his 
escape. 

His  treatment  was  now  more  terrible  than  before  ;  still  his 
life  was  spared,  llis  tormentors  moved  with  him  finally  to 
Wapatomica,  where  he  was  to  be  tortured,  which  was  just  l)elow 
the  present  Zanesfield,  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  not  a  great  dis- 
tance from  Mac-a-cheek.  Here,  as  before,  he  was  compelled 
to  run  the  gauntlet,  during  which  he  was  severely  hurt.  Im- 
mediately after,  he  was  taken  to  the  council  house.  While  sit- 
ting upon  the  fioor,  silent  and  dejected,  with  his  face  black- 
ened— a  sure  indication  that  he  was  doomed  to  death — the 
door  suddenly  opened,  and  in  walked  Simon  Girty,  his  brother 
James,  John  Ward,  and  the  Indian,  with  their  eight  captives 
and  seven  scalps. 

Kenton  was  instantly  removed  from  the  council  house.  The 
arrivcil  of  the  two  Girtys  and  their  party  chiinged  the  delib- 
erations of  the  assembled  warriors  from  Kenton  for  the  time. 
The  meeting  Avas,  in  consequence,  protracted  until  a  late  hour. 
At  length,  Kenton  was  brought  back.  He  Avas  greeted,  as  he 
entered  the  house,  with  a  savage   scowl.     Simon  Girty  threw 


78  History  cf  the  Oirtys. 


a  blanket  upon  the  floor,  and  harshly  ordered  him  to  take  a 
seat  upon  it.  The  order  was  not  immediately  complied  with, 
and  Girt}-  impatiently  seized  his  arm,  jerked  him  roughly 
upon  the  blanket,  and  pulled  him  down  upon  it.  This  inso- 
lence clearly  shows  that  the  renegade  had  no  sympathy  for 
the  helpless  prisoner.  It  proves  conclusively  that  he  had  not 
in  any  way,  in  the  council,  attempted  to  save  his  life.  He 
was  only  anxious  to  learn  of  the  unfortunate  captive  where 
he  lived,  that  he  might  get  from  him  as  many  facts  as  possible 
to  aid  Britain  and  her  savage  allies  in  their  depredations  upon 
the  border,  when  he  would  leave  him  to  his  doom. 

Of  course,  Simon  Girty  did  not  recognize  his  old  compan- 
ion-in-arms, blackened  as  was  the  visage  of  the  latter ;  so  he 
began  to  question  him  in  a  rough  and  menacing  tone,  little 
dreaming  that  he  was  talking  to  Simon  Butler — the  name 
Kenton  was  known  by  upon  the  border — though  the  latter  at 
once  knew  Girty.*  To  the  first  inquiry  as  to  where  he  lived, 
Kenton  replied,  "  in  Kentucky."  Then  Girty  asked  him  how 
many  men  were  there,  and  other  similar  questions,  Kenton 
leading  him  astray  in  many  ways  by  his  answers.  Finally, 
the  prisoner  Avas  asked  his  name.  The  answer  Avas  "  Simon 
Butler !  "  Girty  eyed  him  a  moment,  then  rushed  to  him  and 
embraced  him,  calling  him  his  dear  and  esteemed  friend. 
"  AVell,  you  are  condemned  to  die,"  said  he  to  Kenton  ;  "  but 
I  will  use  every  means  in  my  power  to  save  your  life  ! " 

Girty  immediately  made  a  long  speech  to  the  savages  to 
save  the  life  of  their  prisoner.  As  he  proceeded,  Kenton 
could  plainly  see  the  grim  visages  of  the  Indians  relent. 
When  Girty  had  concluded  his  appeal  for  his  old-time 
friend,  the  savages  rose  with  one  simultaneous  exclamation  of 
approbation,  and  Kenton  was  saved.  Girty  at  once  took  him 
under  his  care  and  protection.  British  traders  from  Detroit 
had  an  establishment  at  this  time  in  Wapatomica.     Girty  took 

*  "  It  WHS  indeed  the  hated  traitor,  .  .  .  who  never  before  or  after- 
ward was  known  to  spare  one  of  his  own  race  whom  fortune  y)laced  in  his 
power." — K.  P.  Coleman,  in  Harper's  Magazine,  Vol.  XXVIII,  p.  298. 
T'.a  latter  part  of  this  statement  is  most  erroneous,  and  could  only  have 
been  made  by  one  wholly  ignorant  of  his  i)revious  and  subsequent  career. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  79 

Kenton  with  him  to  the  store,  and  dressed  him  from  head  to 
foot;  he  also  provided  him  with  a  horse  and  saddle. 

Some  time  after  this,  a  war  party  of  Indians  who  had  been 
on  an  expedition  to  the  neighborhood  of  Wheeling,  returned  ; 
they  had  been  defeated  by  the  borderers — some  killed,  others 
v.ounded.  They  were  sullen,  chagrined,  and  filled  Avith  re- 
venge. They  were  determined  to  kill  any  prisoner  they  met. 
Kenton  just  then  was  the  only  one  upon  whom  they  could 
pour  their  vials  of  wrath.  He  and"  his  deliverer  were  then  kt 
Solomon's  town,  a  small  distance  from  Wapatomica.  It  was 
a  Mingo  village  on  the  way  northward  to  Upper  Sandusky, 
and  was  the  headquarters  of  Girty.*  A  message  was  imme- 
diately sent  by  the  infuriated  savages  to  the  latter  to  return 
and  bring  Kenton  with  him.  The  messenger  met  them  on  the 
way,  shook  hands  with  Girty,  but  refused  the  hand  of  Ken- 
ton. Girty,  after  talking  aside  with  the  Indian  some  time, 
said  to  Kenton  that  they  had  been  sent  for  to  attend  a  grand 
council  at  Wapatomica.  All  three  hurried  to  the  village,  and 
when  they  reached  the  council-house  it  was  crowded.  When 
Girty  went  in,  the  Indians  all  rose  up  and  shook  hands  with 
him,  but  the  proffered  hand  of  Kenton  Avas  refused  with  a 
scowl  of  contempt  that  boded  evil.  After  those  present  were 
seated,  the  war-chief  of  the  defeated  party  stood  up  and  made 
a  vehement  speech,  frequently  turning  his  fiery  and  revengeful 
eyes  on  Kenton  during  its  deliverance.  The  purport  of  the 
savage's  harangue  was  that  the  prisoner  should  be  put  to 
death.  The  next  speaker  was  Girty,  who  again  made  an  earn- 
est appeal  for  the  life  of  his  friend.  He  was  followed  by  sev- 
eral chiefs,  giving  their  views  in  the  matter.  It  was  finally 
decided,  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  that  death  at  the  stake 
should  be  the  doom  of  Kenton. 

Girty  •'poke  kindly  to  the  unfortunate  man,  but  frankly  de- 
clared he  could  do  no  more  for  him.  However,  at  Girty's  re- 
quest, Kenton  was  taken  by  the  Indians  to  Upper  Sandusky 


*  Solomon'8  town  was  three  miles  north  of  the  present  Huntsville,  or 
about  nine  nbovo  what  is  nosv  Bellofontaine,  Ohio.  It  was  subsequently  oc- 
ouiticd  by  Wyundots. 


80  History  of  the  Girtys. 

to  suffer  torture ;  once  there,  and  he  escapev^  death  through 
the  intercession  of  a  trader;  was  sent  to  Detroit,  from  which 
place  he  subsequently  fled,  and  arrived  in  Kentucky  in  safety.* 

In  after  years,  Kenton  frequently  related  to  interested 
spectators  the  particulars  of  his  escape  from  death  by  the  ef- 
forts of  Girty.  "  He  was  good  to  me,"  he  would  say. 
"  When  he  came  up  to  me,  after  the  Indians  had  painted  me 
black,  I  knew  him  at  once.  He  asked  me  a  good  many  ques- 
tions, but  I  thought  it  best  not  to  be  too  forward,  and  I  held 
back  from  telling  him  my  name ;  but,  -'hen  I  did  tell  him,  oh! 
he  Avas  mighty  glad  to  see  me.  He  flung  his  arms  around  me, 
and  cried  like  a  child.  I  never  did  see  one  man  so  glad  to 
see  another.  He  made  a  speech  to  the  Indians — he  could 
speak  the  Indian  tongue,  and  knew  how  to  speak — and  told 
them,  if  they  meant  to  do  him  a  favor,  they  must  do  it  now, 
and  save  my  life.  Girty  afterward,  when  we  were  together, 
cried  to  me  like  a  child  often,  and  told  me  he  was  sorry  for 
the  part  he  had  taken  against  his  countryman ;  that  he  was 
too  hasty.  But  he  was  good  to  me ;  and  it  was  no  wonder. 
When  Ave  see  our  fellow-creatures  every  day,  avc  don't  care 
for  them ;  but  it  is  diff"erent  when  you  meet  a  man  all  alone 
in  the  woods — the  wild,  lonely  woods." 

Girty  "  exhibited  on  this  occasion  [the  saving  of  Kenton's 
life],"  says  an  account  already  frequently  referred  to,  "  at 
least,  a  generosity  and  nobility  of  soul  which  would  have  done 
credit  to  a  more  enlightened  and  more  civilized  character."  f 
But,  tlie  question  is,  what  would  Girty  have  done  for  him  had 
he  (Kenton)  proved  a  stianger?  We  can  only  judge  by  what 
his  actions  were  toAvard  him  before  he  Avas  recognized.  These 
clearly  indicate  that  he  Avould  have  left  him  to  his  fate,  Avith- 
out  any  eff"ort  in  his  behalf.     The  dictates  of  a  broad  human- 

*  Compare,  as  to  tli'  captivity  of  Kenton  and  the  saving  of  hib  life  by 
Girty,  McCluiig's  Sketolies  of  Western  Adventure,  pp.  104-124;  John  Mc- 
Dwnald's  Biographical  Sketches,  pp.  221-240;  Harper's  Magazine,  Vol. 
XXVIII,  art.  "Simon  Kenton,"  where  a  cut  is  given  (imaginative,  of 
course)  of  the  interview  between  Girty  and  Kenton,  at  Waputomica. 

f  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  262. 


History  of  the  Glrtys.  81 

ity  had,  therefore,  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  his  exertions  in 
Kenton's  behalf;  it  was  simply  a  spasmodic  feeling  of  com- 
passion for  an  old  associate  and  friend;  which, a  mere  impulse 
as  it  was,  is  nevertheless  to  be  commended. 

Girty's  remorse  for  wliat  he  had  ah-esidy  done  against  the 
borderers,  as  might  be  expected,  gi'adiially  wore  off;  and  he 
soon  became,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  very  vindictive  in  his 
feelings.     Kenton  never  saw  him  afterward. 


■o" 


Note  I. — That  it  was  determined  at  Chillicothe  to  tor- 
ture Kenton  to  death  at  the  stake,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
And  it  was  there  also  settled  by  the  savages  that  it  was  to 
take  place  at  their  principal  town — Wapatomica.  It  seems 
equally  certain,  also,  that  his  face  was  painted  black  as  soon 
as  he  Avas  sentenced  to  die.  Roosevelt  erroneously  supposes 
that  it  was  the  second  place  the  Indians  came  to,  and  that 
that  place  was  the  Pickaway  Plains,  where  sentence  was  first 
passed  upon  him  by  his  captors.  The  next  place  reached 
after  leaving  Chillicothe  (near  Avhat  is  now  Xenia,  Ohio)  was 
the  Shawanese  village  of  Piqua.  No  council  was  held  there. 
It  is  a  fact,  therefore,  that  sentence  of  death  was  not  passed 
upon  the  captive  at  the  Pickaway  Plains,  nor  was  he  to  be  tor- 
cured  there.  The  Pickaway  Plains  are  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Scioto,  below  the  present  Columbus,  Ohio.  Kenton  was  not 
there  at  any  time  during  his  captivity. 

The  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  262,  also 
makes  a  mistake  as  to  the  place  where  Girty  rescued  Kenton. 
"  It  was  while  Girty  was  in  the  Ohio  country,  and  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  that  he  fled  from  Fort  Pitt,  that  the  most 
creditable  act  of  his  life  took  place.  The  Indians,  who  were 
then  constantly  on  the  war-path,  brought  home  many  captives, 
and  among  them  the  redoubtable  Simon  Kenton,  whom  they 
had  taken  to  Wapakoneta,  and  had  already  doomed  to  the 
stake,  when  he  was  recognized  by  Girty  with  astonishment 
and  delight  as  his  old  comrade  of  the  Dunmore  expedition. 
At  once,  and  at  the  risk  of  destroying  both  his  standing  and 
6 


82  Hiaiory  of  the  Girtys. 

influence  among  his  inflamed  and  suspicious  people,  Girty  ex- 
erted himself  to  the  utmost  to  save  him,  and  at  length,  after 
the  most  earnest  and  impassioned  speeches,  the  power  of 
■which  is  attested  by  the  eflect  it  had  upon  a  crowded  council 
of  prejudiced  and  revengeful  savages,  he  succeeded,  and  tak- 
ing the  rejoicing  Kenton  to  his  own  cabin,  he  fed  him,  clothed 
him  and  dressed  his  neglected  wounds."  But  there  was  no 
AVapakoneta  in  existence  until  long  after  the  Revolution. 

There  are  other  errors  to  be  noticed  in  this  extract.  The 
Indians,  when  they  captured  Kenton,  were  not  on  the  war- 
path, as  is  here  inferred.  Girty  did  not  "  at  once  "  exert  him- 
self to  save  Kenton.  The  writer  also  speaks  of  the  Indians 
who  had  captured  Kenton  as  "his  [Girty's]  inflamed  and  sus- 
picious people."  Now,  these  Indians  were  Shawancse ;  but 
had  they  been  Mingoes,  they  could  not  properly  be  spoken  of 
as  Ms  people.  No  tribe  was  Ids  tribe— no  savage  nation  his 
nation. 

Note  II. — Kenton's  captivity  and  the  incidents  connected 
with  it  are,  to  a  large  extent,  only  known  through  John  A. 
McClung's  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure.  That  writer  de- 
clares  that  Kenton's  adventures  (meaning,  among  others,  his 
being  taken  prisoner,  when  his  life  was  saved  \>'j  Jirty)  were 
copied  by  him  from  a  manuscript  account  dictated  to  another 
by  the  pioneer  himself.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  much  of 
what  is  said  concerning  the  action  of  Girty  is  purely  imaginary, 
and  could  not  have  been  taken  from  Kenton's  lips.  Words 
are  put  into  the  mouths  of  Indian  chiefs  which  they  could  not 
have  spoken.  And  Girty  himself  is  credited  with  saying 
what,  had  he  so  said,  would  have  been  known  to  his  hearers 
as  being  absolutely  untrue  ',  as,  for  instance  :  "  He  [Girty]  en- 
treated them  [the  chiefs]  to  have  compassion  upon  his  feel- 
i'ic;8;  to  spare  him  the  agony  of  witnessing  the  torture  of  an 
oid  friend  by  the  hands  of  his  adopted  brothers ;  and  not  to 
refuse  so  trifling  a  favor,  as  the  life  of  a  white  man,  to  the 
earnest  intercession  of  one  who  had  proved,  by  three  years'' 
faithful  service,  that  he  Avas  sincerely  and  zealously  devoted 


History  of  (he  Girfi/s.  88 

to  the  cause  of  the  Indians."  (The  italicizing  is  mine.)  To 
have  spoken  to  Shawanese  chiefs,  asserting  they  were  "  adopted 
brothers,"  would  have  been  absurd ;  and  to  have  claimed 
"  three  years'  faithful  service  "  to  the  Indians,  when  he  had 
been  among  the  Mingoes  only  a  few  weeks,  would,  of  course, 
have  been  ridiculous.  It  is  not  alone  in  the  speeches  said  to 
have  been  made,  that  McClung  (or  tho  one  he  copies  from) 
draws  upon  his  imagination.  lie  gravely  asserts,  among 
other  fallacies,  that  Kenton  was  introduced  by  Girty  to  his 
own  family;  as  if,  indeed,  the  latter  had  a  wife  and  children 
with  him  I 

Note  III. — After  Kenton  had  a  second  time  been  sentenced 
to  death,  and  had  started  for  Upper  Sandusky,  where  the  tor- 
turing was  to  take  place,  ho  met  Logan,  the  Mingo  chief,  who 
made  an  attempt  to  save  him  by  sending  messengers  in  ad- 
vance to  the  pliice  last  mentioned  to  intercede  for  him  ;  but 
they  failed.  However,  Roosevelt  declares  to  the  contrary,  in 
The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  I,  p.  241  :  "  He  [Logan]  saved 
Simon  Kenton  from  torture  and  death,  when  Girty,  moved  by 
a  rare  spark  of  compassion  for  his  former  comrade,  had  al- 
ready tried  to  do  so  and  failed."  "  But  each  time  [after  being 
twice  sentenced  to  be  burned  alive],  he  was  saved  at  the  last 
moment,"  that  writer  also  declares,  in  Vol.  II,  p.  29  :  "  once 
through  a  sudden  spasm  of  mercy  on  the  part  of  the  renegade 
Girty,  his  old  companion  in  arms  at  the  time  of  Lord  Dun- 
more's  war,  and  again  by  the  powerful  intercession  of  the 
great  Mingo  chief,  Logan."  The  truth  is,  that  his  second  re- 
prieve was  brought  about  by  Girty  artfully  persuading  the 
chiefs  to  send  him  to  Upper  Sandusky  to  be  tortured,  and  by 
the  shrewdness  of  a  white  trader  after  his  arrival  there. 

Note  IV. — The  account  of  the  intercession  of  Girty  in 
Kenton's  behalf,  as  given  by  James  Hall  (The  Romance  of 
Western  History,  pp.  303,  304),  is  particularly  erroneous : 
"After  running  the  gauntlet  in  thirteen  towns,  he  [Kenton] 
was  taken  to  Lower  Sandusky  to  be  burned.     Here  resided 


84  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

the  miscreant  [Simon]  Girty,  Avho,  having  just  returned  from 
an  unsuccessful  expedition  against  the  frontiers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  in  a  particularly  ill  humor,  and  hearing  that  there 
was  a  white  prisoner  in  town,  he  rushed  upon  him,  struck  him, 
beat  him  to  the  ground,  and  was  proceeding  to  further  atroci- 
ties, when  Kenton  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  call  him  by 
name  and  claim  his  protection.  They  had  known  each  other 
in  their  youth ;  Kenton  had  once  saved  the  life  of  Girty  ;  and 
deaf  as  the  latter  was,  habitually,  to  every  dictate  of  benevo- 
lence, he  admitted  the  claim  of  his  former  acquaintance ;  and 
actuated  by  one  of  those  unaccountable  caprices  so  common 
among  savages,  interceded  for  him,  rescued  him  from  the 
stake,  and  took  him  to  his  houi?'i.''  The  same  author  pre- 
viously declares  that  it  was  "  pity,"  instead  of  an  "unaccount- 
able caprice,"  that  prompted  Girty  to  intercede  for  the 
prisoner.  Now,  Girty  did  not  reside  at  Lower  Sandusky,  nor 
did  he  ever  meet  Simon  Kenton  there.  As  yet,  he  had  not 
been  on  an  expedition  against  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania. 
Kenton  had  never  saved  Girty's  life,  nor  had  they  known  each 
other  in  their  youth.  Besides,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown, 
Girty  was  not  "'deaf,"  "habitually,  to  every  dictate  of  benevo- 
lence." 


Hutory  of  the  Girfi/s.  86 


CHAPTER  X. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  October,  1778,  that  Simon  Girty 
parted  with  Kenton  at  Wapatomica,  Avheil  the  hitter  was 
started  on  his  way  to  the  Wyandot  town  of  Upper  Sandusky, 
guarded  by  five  Shawanese — for  there  is  no  evidence  that  he 
accompanied  his  old  time  companion  thither.  That  the  en- 
suing months  of  tlie  year  were  spent  by  Girty  at  the  variouG 
Mingo  vilhiges  in  the  vicinity  is  certain. 

It  has  been  said  (and  the  report  has  a  number  of  times  been 
repeated  by  Western  Avriters)  tliat  Girty  was  dispatched  not 
long  after  his  saving  Kenton's  life,  as  a  British  emissary, 
along  with  Elliott  and  McKee,  to  the  homes  of  the  "  Mora- 
vian "  Indians,  to  induce  them,  if  possible,  to  join  in  the  war 
against  the  Americans.  No  such  journey,  however,  was  made 
by  them. 

The  fall  of  this  year  (1778),  in  Kentucky,  was  marked  by 
some  events  of  importance  beside  those  already  mentioned. 
Immediately  after  Kenton  and  his  companions  set  off  for  the 
country  north  of  the  Ohio, upon  the  expedition  which,  as  previ- 
ously explained,  resulted  in  his  capture,  Boonesborough  was 
besieged  by  a  few  white  men — Canadians — and  a  large  num- 
ber of  India  as  ;  but  the  enemy  in  the  end  were  untsuccessful. 
In  October,  several  men  joined  their  labors  in  making  im- 
provements where  Louisville  now  stands,  laying  the  per- 
manent foundation  of  that  city.  George  Rogers  Clark  or- 
dered Captain  William  Linn  and  tlie  discharged  troops  from 
Kaskaskia  to  return  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  A  station,  which 
had  been  established  on  an  island  in  the  river,  was  abandoned, 
and  a  fort  on  the  main  shore,  in  Kentucky,  commenced. 

The  news  of  the  disaster  to  British  interests  in  the  Illinois 
and  upon  the  Wabash,  aroused  Lieutenant-Govei'nor  Hamil- 
ton, at  Detroit,  to  the  most  vigorous  efforts  to  retrieve  it.  It 
was  obvious  that  Clark's  success  had  panic-stricken  the  In- 


86  Hintory  of  the  Oirtys, 

dians,  and  threatened  the  whole  British  power  in  the  North- 
west. At  the  very  time  when  Hamilton  received  the  news, 
there  was  a  large  gathering  of  Indians  at  his  post  with  whom 
ho  was  holding  negotiations.  "  J  le  gave  them  the  hatchet 
anew,  and  urged  them  to  more  general  and  violent  assaults 
upon  the  frontier,  and  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  join 
him  in  proposed  movements  against  the  Americans.''  He  sent 
a  menacing  letter  to  the  Council  of  the  Delawares,  upon  the 
^luskingum,  calling  upon  them  "  for  the  last  time"  to  take 
up  the  hatchet,  and  was  greatly  infuriated  at  their  firm  re- 
fusal. 

He, immediately  planned  an  expedition  for  the  recovery  of 
tlio  Illinois,  to  be  conimaiided  by  himself.  1  '">  composed 
of  tliirty-five  regular  soldiers,  including  officers  .,  1  men  ;  of 
"  irregulars,"  forty-four  rank  and  file ;  of  militia,  about 
seventy ;  and  about  sixty  Indians,  his  force  of  savages  being 
augmented  on  the  way.  The  volunteers  were  subsequently 
paid  for  tlieir  services  from  the  seventeenth  of  September,  but 
the  expedition  did  not  leave  Detroit  until  the  seventh  of  Oc- 
tober. He  proposed  to  march  first  to  Vincennes,  in  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Indiana;  thence,  he  intended  to  proceed  to 
Kaskaskia,  where  Ciark's  force  was  mostly  stationed.  He 
urged  Major  Arent  Schuyler  De  Peyster,  in  command  at 
Michrlimackinac,  to  send  him  assistance.  De  Peyster  had 
also  received  special  orders  from  General  Frederick  Ilaldi- 
mand,  commanding  at  Quebec,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid 
Hamilton  in  his  enterprise ;  and,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  Oc- 
tober, he  dispatched  officers  to  arouse  the  Indians  around  Lake 
Michigan  and  assemble  them  at  Fort  St.  Joseph,  a  stockade 
near  a  Pottawattamie  village,  in  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now 
South  Bend,  Indiana.  They  were  to  march  thence  and  join 
Hamilton  with  all  the  force  they  could  raise,  or  descend  the 
Illinois,  if  that  would  be  better  calculated  to  promote  the 
success  of  Hamilton's  operations.  These  officers  were  told 
to  use  economy,  "  as  the  nations  in  general "  had  "  many 
presents  from  his  Majesty."  They  were  to  exhort  the  war- 
riors to  use  humanity  toward  their  prisoners,  who  would  be 


His(ori)  of  the   Oirtyx.  87 

nuisomcd.  It  was  thus  that  De  Peyster  early  in  the  war 
showed  himself  a  humane  soldier. 

Hamilton  was  greatly  delayed  by  storms  and  bad  weather, 
and  did  not  reach  A'^incennes  until  the  seventeenth  of  Decem- 
ber. This  place,  as  we  have  seen,  had  yielded  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  it  was  now  held  by  Captain  Leonard  Helm,  who  at 
once  capitulated.  The  British  commander  "  dismissed  his  In- 
dian allies  to  prowl  upon  the  frontiers  or  return  to  their 
homes,  with  the  purpose  in  the  early  spring  of  re-assembling 
them,  with  a  largely  increased  force  both  from  the  north  and 
the  south,  and  then,  after  re-establishing  the  British  power  in 
Illinois,  of  marching  to  Fort  Pitt,  sweeping  Kentucky"  and 
what  is  now  West  Virginia  on  the  way,  and  thus  completing 
the  conquest  of  the  American  settlements  in  the  West. 

Eastward,  along  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
and  westwardly  across  the  Ohio  for  a  considerable  distance  in 
the  Indian  country,  throughout  the  year  177H,  after  the  flight 
of  Girty,  Elliott,  and  McKee  to  the  British,  there  were  stirring 
events  continually  transpiring.  General  Hand  at  Fort  Pitt 
was  succeeded  by  Brigadier-General  Lachlan  Mcintosh.  To 
that  post  marched  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead.  Previous  to  this,  that 
portion  of  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  remaining  at  Valley  Forge 
had  been  placed  in  marching  orders  for  the  same  destination. 
The  residue  of  the  regiment  were  already  in  tlie  West.  The 
command  of  this  body  of  men  was  given  temporarily  to  Colonel 
John  Gibson,  the  same  person  who  wrote  down  from  the  verbal 
translation  by  Simon  Girty,  the  famous  "  speech  "  of  the 
Mingo,  Loijan.  Active  measures  against  Detroit  were  now 
concerted.  A  treaty  with  the  Delaware  Indians  was  held  in 
September.  These  savages  stipulated  to  join  the  troops  of 
the  general  government  with  such  a  number  of  their  best  and 
most  expert  warriors  as  they  could  spare  consistent  with  their 
own  safety.  Just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Beaver,  upon  the 
right  bank  of  the  Ohio,  Fort  Mcintosh  was  erected.  There, 
as  early  as  the  8th  of  October,  the  head-quarters  of  the  army 
was  moved,  where  a  large  force  of  Continental   troops     nd 


88  Ifhfon/  of  the  QiriijH. 

militia,  mostly  from  the  western  counties  of  Virginia,  was  as- 
sembled.''■  A  march  was  made  into  the  wilderness,  and  Fort 
Laurens  erected  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tuscarawas  river  be- 
low the  mouth  of  Sandy  creek.  A  garrison  under  Colonel 
Gibson  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  scant  supplies, 
was  left  to  guard  the  post,  and  General  Mcintosh  returned 
with  the  residue  of  his  army  to  tlie  fort  at  the  mouth  of 
Beaver.t 

Some  time  near  the  close  of  the  year,  Simon  Girty  received 
from  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  orders  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  enemy  near  Fort  Pitt.  On  the  Hth  of 
January,  1770,  with  seventeen  Indians,  mostly  Mingoes,  he 
proceeded  from  the  upper  Scioto  on  his  mission.  lie  had  in- 
formation of  the  building  of  Fort  Laurens,  and  he  started  to 
reconnoiter  the  post  to  gain  what  news  he  could  from  the  cap- 
turing of  any  prisoners.  He  would  also,  if  possible,  take 
some  scalps,  particularly  Colonel  Gibson's.  He  Avas,  in  this 
instance,  it  must  be  said,  engaged  in  legitimate  warfare. 

But  the  secret  of  Girty's  movements  became  known  to  Kill- 
buck,  a  Delaware  chief.  The  Delaware  at  once  informed  Zeis- 
berger,  and  the  last  named  wrote  immediately  to  Colonel  Gib- 
son in  Fort  Laurens :  "  Captain  John  Killbuck  sent  messen- 
gers here  [one  of  the  Moravian  missionary  establishments]  re- 
questing me  to  inform  you  of  the  following  intelligence  they 
had  to-day  [January  19th]  by  two  warriors  who  came  to 
Coshocton  and  were  going  to  war  but  were  stopped  [by  the 
Delawares]  :  They  told  that  thirteen  days  ago  two  companies 
of  warriors,  one  of  seven,  the  other  of  eighteen  men  (among 
the  latter  is  Simon  Girty),  were  gone  to  Fort  Laurens  in  or- 
der to  get  Colonel  Gibson's  scalp.  Their  scheme  is  to  de- 
ceive you  by  carrying  deer's  tails  on  their  heads  and  by  that 
means  to  get  into  the  fort."  |     This  carrying  of  deer's  tails  on 

*  It  was  much  the  largest  army  of  whito  soldiers  got  together  in  the  West, 
either  by  the  Americans  or  British,  during  tlie  Revolution, 
t  VViishington-Irvine  CorreP]K)ndence,  ])j).  20-28. 
%  Zeisbergor  to  Gibson,  January  19, 17"!). — MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  89 

their  heads  was  the  token  used  by  the  friendly  Dchiwarcs  to 
find  a  speedy  entrance  to  (Jibaon's  (quarters,  which  token  the 
enemy  had  in  some  way  found  out. 

Tlie  colonel  does  not  scetn  to  have  been  at  all  alarmed 
about  losing  his  scalp.  "  Mr.  Girty,"  he  wrute  Colonel  Mor- 
gan, on  the  twenty-second,  "  has  not  yet  made  his  appearance  ; 
I  hope,  if  he  does,  to  prevent  his  taking  my  scalp."  ■'■  And 
thus  he  wrote  General  Mcintosh  at  the  same  time:  "I  hope, 
if  Mr.  Girty  comes  to  pay  a  visit,  I  shall  bo  able  to  trepan 
him."  t 

Girty  was,  meanwhile,  approaching  Fort  T, aureus ;  and 
on  arriving  in  its  immediate  vicinity  he  took  care  not  to  dis- 
cover himself  and  his  savages  to  the  garrison,  but  lay  in  am- 
bush on  the  road  leading  to  Fort  Mcintosh,  watching  an  op- 
portunity to  strike  an  effective  blow.  He  and  his  dusky  fol- 
lowers had  not  long  to  wait,  for  Captain  John  Clark,  of  the 
Eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  who  had  commanded  an  escort 
of  provisions  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Colonel  Gibson,  reaching  the 
latter  on  the  twor.cy-first,  was  seen  returning  with  a  sergeant 
and  fourteen  men.  About  three  miles  from  the  post,  they 
were  suddenly  attacked  by  Girty  and  his  Indians,  suffering  a 
loss  of  two  killed,  four  wounded,  and  one  taken  prisoner.  The 
remainder,  including  the  captain,  fought  their  way  back  into 
the  fort.  Letters  written  by  Gibson  (two  of  which  have  al- 
ready been  cited),  containing  information  of  importance,  were 
captured  by  Girty. J  The  success  of  the  latter  in  this  at- 
tack was  at  once  made  known  to  the  Fort  Pitt  commander, 
who  learned  through  advices  from  the  Tuscarawas  who  it  wr3 
that  commanded  the  savages  in  the  ambuscade. §     This  be- 

•  Gibson  to  Mort;iin,  January  22,  1779. — MS.  letter,  Haklimand  Papers. 

f  Gibson  to  Alelntosh,  January  22,  1779. — MS.  letter,  llakliniand  Papers. 

I  Copies  of  tbeso  letters  I  have  bet'oro  me.  Com])aro,  as  to  the  ambus- 
cade, Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  31.  The  braver}'  displayed  by 
Clark,  who  was  outnumbered  by  the  e?iemy,  shows  he  was  on  the  alert. 

§  "1  am  just  informed  that  Capt.  Clark,  of  the  8th  Pennsylvania  llefjm't, 
who  was  sent  to  command  an  Escort  to  Fort  Laurens,  as  ho  was  returning 
with  a  Sergeant  and  14  men,  three  miles  this  side  of  that  fort,  was  attacked 


90  History  of  the  Girtpn. 

coming  known  in  the  border  settlements,  tended  to  increase 
the  terror  of  Gii-ty's  name.  He  afterward  boasted  greatly 
of  this  exploit  of  killing  his  own  countrymen. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  "!  770,  Clark  heard  the  news  of 
Hamilton's  occupation  of  Vincennes,  and  the  condition  of  his 
forces.  He  saw  that  he  must  capture  the  lieutenant-governor, 
or  be  taken  by  him ;  so,  on  the  7th  of  February,  with  a  force 
of  one  I'li.ulred  and  seventy-six  men,  he  started  for  Vincennes, 
and  on  Vne  twenty-fifth  the  post  was  taken,  and  Hamilton 
m.ade  prisoner. 

From  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Laurens,  Girty  hastened  on  his 
way  with  his  prisoner  and  captured  correspondence,  to  De- 
troit, to  turn  them  over  to  Captain  Lernoult,  then  in  command 
there — Governor  Hamilton  being  at  that  time,  as  we  have 
just  shown,  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  Girty  also  took 
with  him  "  strings  "  from  the  Mingoes,  from  the  Shawanese 
and  Sandusky  Wyandots,  and  from  a  few  Delawares  who  had 
become  allies  of  the  Britisl^.  He  arrived  on  the  4th  of  Feb- 
ruai'y,  giving  the  Detroit  commiindant  full  particulars,  as  he 
had  learned  them,  of  the  marching  of  Mclntosli  to  the  Tusca- 
rawas in  the  previous  fall ;  of  the  building,  upon  that  river,  of 
Fort  Laurens  ;  and  of  the  intentions  of  the  American  com- 
mander to  move  toward  Detroit  "  the  latter  end  of  March."  * 
That  Girtj  gave  to  Lernoult  the  particulars  of  his  ambus- 
cading the  soldiers  at  the  post  just  mentioned  may  be  pre- 
sumed. ,' 

Heckewelder  wrote  to  Colonel  Brodhead  from  Coshoctor 
that  Girty  had  "  gone  to  Detroit,  .  .  .  but  seemed  to  be 
very  low-spirited."  This  information  the  Moravian  had  ob- 
tained from  some  Indians.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
Girty's  heart  was  not  yet  fully  steeled  against  his  countrymen, 

by  Simon  Girty  and  a  party  of  Min^xoes,  who  killed  two  of  our  men, 
wounded  four,  and  took  one  prisoner." — Mclntogh  to  Colonel  Lochry,  Jan- 
uary 29,  1779,  in  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VII,  p.  173. 

*  Colonel  Mason  Bolton  to  General  Hadlimand,  March  24, 1779. — MS.  let- 
ter, Haldimand  Pajiers.  This  letter  has  been  published.  See  Michigan 
Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  IX,  p.  427. 


History  of  the  (-irtys.  91 

notwithstanding  his  boasting  concerning  his  success  at  Fort 
Laurens.  He  had  not  yet  become,  as  some  have  supposed,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  a  white  savage — 

"Whose  vengeance  shamed  the  Indians'  thirst  for  blood;  " 

Still,  it  is  clear  that  his  prestige  among  the  Ohio  Indians,  was 
increasing. 

The  letters  of  Colonel  Gibson  revealed  to  Girty  that  he  was 
particularly  pointed  out  as  one  who,  if  captured,  could  expect 
little  mercy  from  that  officer,  causing  at  first  a  feeling  of  de- 
spondency, which  was  succeeded  by  vindictiveness  against  his 
countrymen  such  as  before  had  not  possessed  him.  In  his 
maraud  into  Kentucky  along  with  his  brother  James  and 
another  white  man,  with  a  few  Indians,  he  was  acting  under 
the  advice  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton,  he  having  been 
persuaded,  doubtless,  that  such  expoilitions  were  a  necessity. 
It  is  evident,  from  what  he  afterward  told  Kenton,  that  Avhat 
he  had  thus  far  done  was  under  mental  protest,  to  a  certain 
extent.  Now,  however,  the  letters  of  Gibson  awakened  his 
animosity — the  "  rebels  "  were  his  personal  enemies.  It  is 
clear  his  feelings  were  undergoing  a  change ;  soon  the  "  tiger 
was  unchained."  His  hatred  of  Gibson  thenceforth  was  in- 
tense. 


:®f 


92  History  of  the  Oirtys. 


■    CHAPTER  XL 

The  two  warriors  from  Sandusky,  who  were  stopped  at  Co- 
shocton by  the  Delawares,  and  who  communicated  the  intelli- 
gence as  to  Simon  Girty  marching  with  a  party  of  Indians  to 
take  Colonel  Gibson's  scalp  at  Fort  Laurens,  also  gave  infor- 
mation, which  was  promptly  sent  to  the  colonel,  that  the  sav- 
ages, about  the  '2d  of  March,  1779,  intended,  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  warriors,  to  attack  the  fort ;  and  they  would  get  white 
soldiers  from  Detroit  to  aid  them  if  possible.  At  this  very  day, 
declared  the  two  warriors,  they  ai'e  assembling  and  mustering 
at  Sandusky  and  Detroit,  to  be  ready  at  the  appointed  time. 
This  news  was  discouraging  to  Gibson,  who  had  no  doubt  that 
an  expedition  Avas  on  foot  by  the  enemy  against  his  post ;  but, 
though  short  of  supplier,  he  resolved  to  fight  to  the  last.  No 
braver  man  than  he  commanded  American  soldiers  during  the 
Revolution. 

Upon  the  return  of  Girty  to  Detroit,  after  his  success  at 
Fort  Laurens,  he  declared  that  seven  or  eight  hundred  war- 
riors intended  to  attack  Fort  Laurens,  and  that  when  he  left 
the  Sandusky  river,  that  number  of  Six  Nation  Indians  (Min- 
goes),  Shawanese,  Wyandots,  and  Delawares,  was  assembled 
at  Upper  Sandusky.  While  they  had  little  expectation  of 
making  any  particular  headway  against  the  fortification  itself, 
they  would  drive  off  and  destroy  the  cattle  ;  and,  if  any  of 
the  main  army  from  Fort  Mcintosh  attempted  to  go  to  the  as- 
sistance of  the  garrison,  they  were  resolved  to  attack  them  in 
the  night  and  to  distress  them  as  much  as  possible. 

Girty  not  only  asked  of  Captain  Lernoult  ammunition  to  be 
given  the  Indians  in  their  proposed  expedition,  but  /earnestly 
solicited,  on  behalf  of  the  savages,  that  an  English  captain 
might  be  sent  with  them,  '*  to  see  how  they   would  behave." 


History  of  the  Girtys.  93 


Captain  Henry  Bird,*  of  the  Eighth  (or  King's)  regiment, 
and  ten  soldiers,  all  volunteers  and  •'  anxious  to  go,"'  were  at 
once  dispatched  to  Upper  Sandusky,  along  with  Girty,  to  aid 
the  undertaking ;  several  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  also  went 
with  them  from  Detroit.  Captain  Bird  took  with  him  a  large 
supply  of  ammunition  and  clothing  to  encourage  the  savages, 
besides  presents  to  the  chief  warriors. f 

Upon  arriving  among  the  Wyandots,  Captain  Bird  found  them 
not  at  all  anxious  to. march  at  once  against  the  Americans  ;  for, 
just  then  they  were  enjoying  the  immediate  prospect  of  tortur- 
ing a  prisoner  at  the  stako,  to  the  exclusion,  in  their  minds,  of 
all  else.  "  The  captain,"  fov  so  the  story  runs, "  on  hearing  this, 
did  all  that  was  in  his  power  to  save  the  poor  man,  begging 
and  praying  their  head  men  tc  save  his  life,  and  frequently 
oiTering  four  hundred  dollars  for  him  on  the  spot,  and,  indeed, 
was  about  to  oifer  one  thousand  dollars,  but  he  found  it  all  to 
no  purpose.  He  then  went  to  the  prisoner,  told  him  he  could 
do  nothing  ;  that  if  he  (the  captain)  was  in  his  place  he  would 
pick  up  a  gun  and  defend  himself  as  long  as  he  could.  Bt'*^ 
the  prisoner  seemed  pretty  easy,  and  only  told  the  Indians 
that  the  time  would  come  that  they  would  pay  dear  for  all 
their  murders.  He  was  then  taken  away  and  murdered  at  a 
most  horrid  rate." 

Captain  Bird  "  took  the  body  [and]  buried  it,  but  they  (the 
Wyandots)  dio;ging  it  out  again  and  sticking  the  head  upon  a 
pole  [the  captain]  had  to  bury  it  a  second  time.  After  all  was 
[over]  the  captain  went  up  to  them  (they  were  all  assembled) 
and  spoke  to  them  in  the  following  manner :  '  You  damned 
rascals,  if  it  was  in  ray  power,  as  it  is  in  the  power  of  the 
Americans,  not  one  of  you  should  live.  Nothing  would  please 
me  more  thau  to  see  such  devils  as  you  all  are  killed.  You 
cowards,  is  that  all  you  can  do,  to  kill  a  poor,  innocent  pris- 

*  In  many  histories  relating  to  the  West,  this  officer's  name  is  erroneously 
•pelled  "  Byrd." 

■f  Bolton  to  Haldimand,  March  24, 1779,  already  cited.  Captain  Lernoult 
declared  that  he  did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  encourage  the  Indians, 
showing  that  Girty's  solicitations  ^^erc  c:r,:"ently  successful. 


94  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

oner  ?  You  dare  not  show  your  faces  where  an  army  is  ;  but 
there  [here]  you  are  busy  [brave  ?]  when  you  have  nothing  to 
fear,  (ret  away  from  me ;  never  will  I  have  nothing  [any 
thing  more]  to  do  with  you.'  "  *  After  this  defiant  and  de- 
nunciatory speech,  the  irate  but  humane  captain,  it  may  bo 
presumed,  did  not  treat  his  Wyandot  allies  with  much  respect, 
for  a  time  at  least. 

About  the  22d  of  February,  one  hundred  and  twenty  sav- 
ages, mostly  Wyandots  and  Mingoes,  but  all  under  Captain 
Bird  (who,  it  seems,  had  conquered  his  disgust  for  the  former), 
reached  the  Tuscarawas  from  the  Sandusky  and  lay  in  ambush 
near  Fort  Laurens.  LukeAvarmness  on  part  of  the  Wyandots 
toward  the  British  operated  to  keep  back  much  the  larger 
number  of  warriors  of  that  tribe  living  upon  the  Sandusky 
from  going  upon  this  expedition.  The  Mingoes  (all  Senecas) 
who  marched  with  Bird  were  under  the  immediate  lead  of 
Girty,  and  were  far  more  vindictive  at  this  time  against  the 
Americans  than  were  the  Wyandots.  Captain  Bird,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  Avas  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  and  was 
on  the  campaign  as  a  volunteer  from  his  regiment,  the  Eighth 
(or  King's). 

On  the  twenty-third,  Colonel  Gibson,  in  command  of  Fort 
Laurens,  unwisely  (for  he  had  knowledge,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  the  enemy  contemplated  a  movement  against  him)  sent 
out  a  wagoner  for  the  horses  belonging  to  the  post,  to  draw 
w^ood.  With  him  went  a  guard  of  eighteen  men.  The  party 
were  fired  upon  and  all  killed  and  scalped  in  sight  of  the  fort, 
except  two,  who  were  made  prisoners.  The  whole  besieging 
force  then  shoAved  themselves,  and  Fort  Laurens  was  com- 

*  Heckewelder  to  Colonel  Brodhcnd,  from  Coshocton,  June  30,  1779,  in 
Pennsylviinia  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  624,  625.  It  has  often 
been  said,  and  the  tradition  has  found  its  way  into  print  (see  An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky  under  Col.  William  Craw- 
ford, in  1782,  p.  164),  that  the  Wyandots  did  not  torture  their  ))ri8oner8  at 
the  stake,  as  was  frequently  done  by  other  tribes  (compare,  also,  Magazine 
of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  266) ;  but  1  have  since  seen  an  abun- 
dance of  both  published  and  unpublished  evidence  to  the  contrary,  of  the 
moBj  authentic  character. 


Hi»tovij  oj  the  Girfys.  95 

pletely  invested.  The  siege  was  continued  until  the  garrison 
was  reduced  to  the  verge  of  starvation  ;  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  sour  flour  and  an  equal  weight  of  spoiled  meat  constituting 
a  daily  ration  for  each ;  but  the  assailants  themselves,  about 
the  20th  of  March,  ran  short  of  supplies,  and,  because  of  tliis, 
and  treachery  on  part  of  the  AVyandots,  returned  home.* 

The  siege  (although  a  failure),  considering  that  the  fort  was 
a  regularly  built  fortification,  planned  by  an  engineer  of  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States,  and  garrisoned  by  regular 
troops,  and  considering,  also,  the  persistency  of  the  besiegers, 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  savages,  and  who  closely  invested  the 
post  for  twenty-five  days,  was  the  most  notable  of  any  in  the 
West  during  the  Revolution. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Bird  to  Upper  Sandusky,  what  he 
believed  was  a  well-authenticated  report  reached  him  that  a 
party  of  Delawares,  stimulated  by  a  reward  of  eight  hundred 
dollars  offered  by  the  Americans  for  Girty's  scalp,  did 
actually  go  in  .pursuit  of  the  renegade,  expecting  to  find 
him  marching  homeward  from  the  siege  of  Fort  Laurens  Avith 
his  Miijgoes  along  with  that  officer;  but,  discovering  he  was 
not  in  the  company  of  the  latter,  went  off  without  any  hos- 
tile demonstration  against  the  captain's  command.  Thereupon, 
Girty  went  with  "  his  Senecas  [Mingoes]  in  quest"  of  the  Dela- 
Avare  warriors,  but  it  is  probable  he  did  not  find  them.  "Girty, 
I  assure  you,  sir,"  says  Bird,  in  writing  to  Captain  Lernoult 
of  the  circumstance  just  narrated,  "  is  one  of  the  most  use- 
ful, disinterested  friends  in  his  department  that  the  govern- 
ment has."  t 

General  Mcintosh,  in  April,  was  relieved,  at  his  own  re- 
quest, of  the  command  of  the  Western  Department,  being  suc- 
ceeded by  Colonel  Brodhead,  all  thoughts  of  moving  against 
the  Indians  upon  the  Sandusky,  and  going  thence  to  Detroit, 
having  been  abandoned  by  him. 

*  See,  as  to  most  of  these  facts,  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  ])p. 
31,  32;  also,  pp.  32-38  of  the  same  work,  for  further  particulars  as  to  Fort 
Laurens  and  its  final  abandonment. 

t  Bird  to  Lernoult, ,  1779. — MS.  letter,  Ualdimand  Papers. 


96  History  of  the  Girtys. 

After  the  siege  of  Fort  Laurens,  Simon  Girty  busied  him- 
self in  the  Mingo  country,  attentive  to  the  behests  of  Captain 
Lernoult.  On  the  28th  of  May,  Ileckewelder,  at  Coshocton, 
wrote  Brodhead  :  "  Simon  Girty  acts  wickedly,  and  does  all 
ho  can  against  you."  *  His  remorse  for  joining  the  enemies 
of  his  country  was  rapidly  wearing  off. 

Colonel  John  Bowman,  in  the  month  .last  mentioned,  col- 
lected a  small  army  in  Kentucky,  to  attack  Chillicothe,  the 
Shawanese  town  (before  spoken  of  as  "  Old  Chillicothe,"  in 
connection  with  the  capture  of  Simon  Kenton),  about  three 
miles  north  of  the  present  Xenia,  Ohio.  With  two  hundred 
and  sixty-two  men,  early  in  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth,  he 
encompassed  the  village  and  set  fire  to  it.  His  success  was  only 
partial,  the  council-house  of  the  enemy  defying  the  assaults  of 
the  Kentuckians.  After  killing  several  savages,  and  securing 
considerable  plunder,  the  expedition  returned  with  slight  loss, 
proving  by  no  means  a  failure,  although  not  as  much  had  been 
accomplished  as  had  been  expected. f  A  report,  which,  how- 
ever, was  erroneous,  reached  the  ears  of  Bowman  during  the 
attack,  that  Simon  Girty  and  a  hundred  Mingoes  were  at 
Piqua  (the  Shawanese  town  already  mentioned  as  on  Mad 
river,  not  a  great  distance  away),  and  that  they  had  been  sent 
for.  This,  it  has  been  alleged,  without  any  authority,  caused 
the  Americans  to  retreat. 

Af^er  the  return  of  Captain  Bird  to  the  Sandusky  from  the 
siege  of  Fort  Laurens,  another  incursion  was  planned  by  him 
against  the  same  post, J 

"After  much  running  about,"  said  he,  in  writing  from  Up- 
per Sandusky,  on  the  9th  of  June,  "  and  making  some  presents 
to  chiefs,  we  had  collected  at  Mingo  town  [on  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Scioto]  near  two  hundred  savages,  chiefly  Shawanese, 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VII,  p.  616. 

f  The  Washington-Crawford  Letters,  p.  71,  note  2.  See  also,  for  further 
particulars,  CoUins's  History  of  Kentucky,  Vol.  II,  p.  425.  Accounts  of 
this  expedition,  more  or  less  accurate,  are  likewise  to  be  found  in  many 
Western  histories.  But  the  actual  date  of  the  attack  on  Chillicothe  was  first 
published  in  the  Washington-Crawford  Letters,  just  cited. 

X  McKee  to  Lernoult,  May  26,  1779. — MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  97 

when  lo  !  a  runnei*  arrived  with  accounts  of  the  Shawanese 
towns  being  attacked  by  a  body  from  Kentucky."  This  was 
the  expedition  of  Bowman.  "  News  flew,"  continues  Bird, 
"  that  all  the  towns  were  to  be  attacked  ;  and  our  little  body 
separated  in  an  instant,  past  reassembling^."  "  Girty,"  he 
adds,  "  is  flying  about."  *  So,  as  we  have  said,  the  report 
that  Simon  Girty,  with  a  hundred  Mingoes,  was  at  Piqua  Avhen 
Bowman  attacked  Chillicothe,  and  had  been  sent  for,  was  a 
false  one,  although  the  gathering  of  the  two  hundred  savages 
by  Bird  at  the  Mingo  village  may  have  been  the  inspiring 
cause  of  it. 

Toward  the  end  of  June,  Simon  Gii  ty,  with  seven  Mingoes, 
reached  Coshocton,  on  his  way  to  one  of  the  settlements  near 
Fort  Pitt,  where  he  had  been  advised  there  was  a  bundle  of 
letters  hid  in  a  hollow  tree,  which  it  was  important  to  ob- 
tain.f  No  sooner,  however,  had  he  got  to  the  Delaware  town 
than  a  messenger  was  dispatched  to  Colonel  Brodhead  by 
the  friendly  Delawares  informing  him  of  Girty 's  arrival,  and 
that  it  was  his  intention,  after  securing  the  letters  he  was  to 
go  in  search  of,  to  make  a  raid  into  the  settlements  near 
Holiday's  Cove,  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia.  Thereupon, 
the  American  commander  dispatched   Captain   Samuel  Brady 

*  Bird  to  Lernoult — MS.  letter:  Iliildimiind  Papers.  This  letter  has  re- 
cently been  published  (see  The  Winning  ofthe  West.Vol.  II.,  pp.  397, 898).  In 
it  will  be  found  a  brief  account  brought  to  Bird  by  the  Indians  of  Bowman's 
attack  on  Chillicothe.  Koo.sevelt  declares,  without,  so  fur  us  I  can  discover, 
a  shadow  of  authority,  that  Bird,  in  gathering  "two  hundred  Indians  at 
the  Mingo  town,"  intended  to  march,  not  toward  the  Tuscarawas,  but  against 
Kentucky.  He  then  reasons  that,  because,  on  hearing  of  Bowman's  expedi- 
tion, "  the  Indians  dissolved  in  a  })anic,"  therefore,  although  a  defeat,  "  the 
expedition  was  of  great  service  to  Kentucky,  though  the  Kentuckians  never 
knew  it,"  as  it  kept  Bird  away. 

t  "I  should  think  it  a  very  proper  thing  for  you  to  keep  two  Delaware 
men  as  spies  at  the  mouth  of  Gajahoga  [Cuyahoga]  river,  who  might  hunt 
there  without  being  discovered.  I  further  inform  you  that  Simon  Girty, 
with  eight  Mingoes,  is  gone  to  the  inhabitants  [American  settlements  east- 
ward] to  fetch  a  packet  of  letters  out  of  a  hollow  tree,  I  understand,  some- 
where about  Fort  Pitt." — Heckewelder  to  Brodhead,  June  29,  1779,  from 
Coshocton. 

7 


98  History  of  the  Girtys. 


and  John  Montour  with  a  party  of  men  from  Fort  Pitt  to  en- 
deavor, if  possible,  to  capture  the  renegade  and  his  Mingoes ;  * 
but  they  were  unsuccessful. 

Girty  reached  Coshocton  on  his  return,  with  -ne  prisoner, 
early  in  July,  he  having  also  secured  the  letters  he  was  so 
anxious  to  get.  This  was  his  first  raid  across  the  Ohio  to  the 
eastward — the  first  time  he  ha  ]  ventured  with  a  war-party 
east  of  the  Tuscarawas  river.  It  was  this  foray  and  the  ambus- 
cading of  Captain  Clark  at  Fort  Laurens,  every-where  quickly 
heard  of  upon  the  frontiers  of  South-western  Pennsylvania 
and  North-western  Virgi_iia,  that  made  his  name  a  household 
word  of  t(  ror  thenceforth  all  along  the  border  from  Kittan- 
ning  to  Louisville.  There  was  no  longer  any  question  in  the 
minds  of  the  borderers  as  to  his  actual  presence,  frequently, 
with  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  killing  the  inoffensive  in- 
habitants regardless  of  age  or  sex.  This  belief  was,  of  course, 
as  to  the  frequency  of  Girty's  visits,  greatly  an  exaggeration 
of  the  facts ;  that  he  himself  ever  killed  women  and  children 
as  did  the  Indians  with  whom  he  associated  on  his  raids  and 
whom  he  frequently  led,  has  not  been  positively  proven,  al- 
though there  can,  seemingly,  be  no  doubt  that  such  was  the 
fact.  lie  could  not  ask  the  savages  to  do  what  he  himself 
would  hesitate  about  doing.  In  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  it 
would  be  arrant  cowardice. 

Accidentally,  while  Girty  was  returning  to  Coshocton,  he 
and  his  party  met  David  Zeisberger,  the  Moravian  mission- 
ary, who  was  on  his  way  from  a  small  "  Moravian  "  Indian 
village  called  Lichtenau  to  another  missionary  station  some 
distance  above.  "  Mr.  Zeisberger,"  wrote  Ileckewelder  to 
Brodhead,  a  few  days  after,  from  Coshocton,  "  who  had  been 
here  to  see  us,  and  who,  on  his  way  home,  met  with  those  fel- 

•  "  Captain  Hrady  and  John  Montour,  with  a  party  of  men,  are  gone  to 
bring  in  Simon  Girty  and  seven  Mingoes,  who  are  come  toward  Holliday's 
Cove,  and  an  express  is  dispatched  by  the  Delaware  chiefs  [who  were  then 
at  Pittsburgh]  to  order  the  Delawares  of  Coochoching  [Coshocton]  to  seize 
Girty  and  his  party  should  he  return  there;  and  they  are  to  be  brought  to 
mo." — Brodhead  to  Bayard,  from  Pittsburgh,  July  1,  1779,  in  Pennsylvania 
Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  XII,  p.  134. 


Hisfory  of  the  Girtys.  99 

lows,  had  certainly  bean  killeil  by  them  if  not  accidentally 
Caleb  and  some  more  of  the  Delawares  had  met  together. 
He  [Girty]  expressed  himself  here  with  great  dissatisfaction 
concerning  the  disappointment,  and  wished  us  all  in  his  power."* 
Now,  this  expression  of  disappointment  at  not  being  able  to 
kill  Zcisberger,  and  his  wishing  the  missionaries  all  in  his 
power,  was,  on  the  part  of  Girty,  if  actually  indulged  in,  all 
bluster  ;  he  was  the  last  person  who  Avould  have  harmed  the 
Moravian.  He  knew  too  well  what  effect  such  a  proceeding 
would  have  at  Detroit,  The  fear  and  easy  credulity  of  Hecke- 
welder  made  it,  however,  seem  certain  to  the  latter  that  the 
renegade  only  needed  an  opportunity,  and  that  then  his 
threats  would  certainly  bo  carried  into  execution. 

A  hostile  demonstration  on  part  of  Girty  and  his  Mingoes 
at  their  meeting,  Zcisberger  and  "  Caleb  and  some  more  of 
the  Delawares,"  was  only  what  would  naturally  occur  at  the 
moment  of  discovery  and  until  there  was  a  recognition  as  to 
who  constituted  the  party.  It  was  enough,  however,  to  con- 
vince Heckewelder,  when  he  learned  what  had  taken  place, 
that  Zcisberger  "  had  certainly  been  killed "  but  for  the 
presence  accidently  of  his  protectors.  And  the  expressions 
and  Avishes  of  Girty  made,  in  his  mind,  "  assurance  doubly 
sure,"  that  his  Moravian  companion  had  had  a  very  narrow 
escape. 

Girty,  it  will  be  remembered,  could  neither  read  nor  write ; 
and  he  was  desirous,  on  reaching  Coshocton,  on  his  way  back 
from  his  maraud  into  the  settlements  across  the  Ohio,  to  have 
Alexander  McCormick,  who  was  in  the  Delaware  village  at 
the  time  of  his  I'eaching  there  when  moving  eastward,  to  ex- 
plain the  contents  of  the  letters  he  had  secured  ;  but  McCor- 
mick, whose  head-quarters  were  at  Upper  Sandusky,  had 
started  for  that  place  before  Girty's  return.  There  was,  how- 
ever, in  Coshocton,  besides  Heckewelder,  an  American  named 
Richard  Connor ;  but,  of  course,  he  was  not  asked,  nor  was 
the  Moravian,  to  read  what  the  renegade  was  so  anxious  to 

•  Heckewelder  to  Brodhead,  July  8,  1779,  from  Coshocton,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  541,  642. 


100  Hkiory  of  the  Qirhjn. 


lieur.  Girty  •'  told  Mr.  Connor,"  wrote  Ileckewclder  to  Brod- 
iioad,  *'  to  tell  his  brethren,  the  Americans,  that  he  did  not 
ilesire  they  should  show  him  any  favor,  neither  (said  he) 
would  he  show  thera  any."  Had  it  not  been  for  Big  Cat,  one 
of  the  Delaware  chiefs,  Girty  would  have  been  detained  by 
force  in  Coshocton,  and  sent  to  Fort  IMtt,  so  Ileckewelder 
declares.*  And  this  is  doubtless  true  ;  as  the  majority  of 
the  Delawares  were  still  friendly  to  the  Americans,  and  Brod- 
head  had  sent,  as  we  have  seen,  some  of  their  chiefs  (who 
were  at  Fort  Pitt)  on  purpose  to  have  him  seized  should  he 
return  to  Coshocton,  and  brought  to  Pittsburgh. 

Colonel  Brodhead  was  kept  by  Heckewolder,  at  this  period, 
fully  advised  of  Girty's  movements,  so  far  as  the  Moravian 
had  any  knowledge  of  them,  either  personally  or  by  what  he 
learned  from  others.  Notwithstanding  this  fact,  he  wrote, 
many  years  after,  as  follows : 

"  News  being  brought  to  Goschochking  [Coshocton]  that 
the  governor  of  Detroit  [Henry  Hamilton],  who,  a  short  time 
before,  had  gone  with  troops  to  Port  [Post]  Vincennes,  and 
was  there,  together  with  his  officers,  taken  prisoners  by  an 
American  army  under  General  Clarke  [Colonel  George  Rogers 
Clark],  and  by  him  taken  to  Virginia,  the  peaceable  Indians, 
and  the  missionaries,  entertained  a  hope  that  the  threats, 
so  repeatedly  circulated  through  the  country,  and  attributed 
to  this  governor,  would  forthwith  be  at  end.  They,  however, 
found  themselves  mistaken,  as  it  now  became  more  evident 
that  much  had  been  laid  to  the  charge  of  this  gentleman,  of 
which  he  probably  had  no  knowledge,  but  which  had  been  the 
work  of  McKee,  Elliott,  and  [Simon]  Girty.  These  three 
men,  whose  hostility  to  the  United  States  appeared  to  be  un- 
bounded, were  continually  plotting  the  destruction  of  the 
Christian  ['  Moravian ']  Indians'  settlements,  as  the  only  means 
of  drawing  the  Delaware  nation,  and  with  these,  the  Christian 
Indians,  into  the  war.  The  missionaries,  in  particular,  were 
as  a  thorn  in  their  eyes,  being  considered  not  only  as  the  cause 
that  the  Delaware  nation  would  not  join  in  the  war,  but  they 

•  Heckewelder  to  Brodhead,  July  8,  1779,  already  cited. 


History  of  the  Girfyt.  101 

also  mistrusted  them  of  informing  the  American  government 
of  the  part  Ihey  [>rcKce,  Elliott,  and  Simon  Girty]  were  act- 
ing in  the  Indian  country."'^ 

The  expedition  of  Girty  from  the  upper  Scioto,  to  secure 
the  letters  whioli  had  l)een  left  by  some  unfriendly  American 
for  Britisii  perusal,  was  declared  by  Ileckewelder,  over  forty 
years  after,  to  have  been  for  the  purpose  of  taking  "  off  the 
missionary,  Zeisberger,  or  to  bring  in  his  scalp."  This  Mo- 
ravian author,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  had  forgotten 
that,  no  sooner  had  the  renegade  gone  from  Coshocton,  on  his 
way  eastward,  than  ho  wrote  to  tiie  Fort  Pitt  commandant, 
giving  the  reason  for  his  (Girty's)  going  into  one  of  the  set- 
tlements near  that  post,  leaving  it  to  be  inferred  by  Brodhead 
that  what  was  thus  mentioned  was  the  object  of  the  renegade 
coming  to  Coshocton,  and  of  his  going  further  on.f 

"At  the  very  time,"  says  Ileckewelder,  in  contradiction  of 
this  letter  to  Brodhead,  "that  the  governor  [Henry  Hamilton] 
was  a  prisoner  of  General  Clarke  [Colonel  George  Rogers 
Clark],  a  plot  was  laid  at  Sandusky  to  take  off  the  missionary, 
Zeisberger,  or  to  bring  in  his  scalp ;  and  Simon  Girty  had  en- 
gaged to  lead  the  party  on  for  the  purpose.  Fortunately, 
there  lived,  at  the  time,  at  Upper  Sandusky,  a  trader,  by  the 
name  of  Alexander  McCormick,  well  known  to  the  mission- 
aries for  many  years  past  as  a  friend  and  admirer  of  missions 
among  the  Indians,  who,  on  learning  the  intention  of  this 
party,  found  means  to  inform  the  writer  of  this,  who  lived  at 
Lichtenau,  of  the  plot,  and  at  which  place,  as  it  had  hap- 
pened, this  very  missionary,  at  the  time,  had  come  on  a  visit 
from  Shonbrun,  which,  the  spies  of  the  hostile  party  discover- 
ing, they,  to  insure  his  capture,  waylaid  the  path  on  which 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  203,  204.  It  was  exactly  what  Hecke- 
welder  himself  did  do — inform  the  American  government  of  the  part  "they 
[McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty]  were  acting  in  the  Indian  country."  That 
this  trio  were  "continually  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  Christian  In- 
dians' settlements,  as  the  only  means  of  drawing  the  Delaware  nation,  and 
with  these  the  Christian  Indians,  into  the  war,"  or  that  they  were  so  doing 
for  any  other  purpose,  is  wholly  untrue. 

t  Heckewelder  to  Brodhead,  June  29,  1779,  from  Coshocton,  before  cited. 


102  Uhhry  of  fhe  Oirtyn. 

ZciHbcr<>;or  must  return.  Two  spirited  ludiiiii  brethren,  of 
whonj  Isiiiic  (ilickliican  was  one,  were  selet'tcd  to  conduiit  the 
missionary  home  by  way  of  Gnadenhuttcn,  with  directions, 
liowever,  to  strengtiien  the  guard  at  that  place,  shouhl  it  bo 
thought  necessary.  They  left  liichteiuiu,  when,  having  scarcely 
proceeded  nine  miles  on  the  journey,  all  of  a  sudden  the  hos- 
tile party,  consisting  of  eight  Mingoes  (of  the  Six  Nations), 
and  Simon  (Jirty,  the  person  who  was  to  point  out  to  them  the 
object  thoy  were  come  for,  appeared  before  them  on  the  path. 
At  this  critical  moment,  and  while  Girty  was  uttering  to  the 
captain  of  the  gang  the  words,  "This  is  the  very  man  we  are 
come  for ;  now  act  agreeable  to  the  promise  you  have  made !  " 
two  young  Delawares,  on  their  return  from  a  hunt,  accidently, 
and  very  fortunately,  struck  from  out  of  the  woods  exactly 
on  the  path  where  tiiese  were  standing,  and  concluding,  from 
the  words  spoken  by  Girty,  as  also  by  the  appearance  of  the 
party,  that  something  bad  was  intended  against  the  mission- 
ary, they  boldly  stepped  forward,  with  their  arms  in  readiness, 
to  defend  him,  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives ;  Avhich,  the  cap- 
tain observing,  and  justly  conciuding  that  the  two  other  Del- 
awares, who  accompanied  the  missionary,  would  join  these 
against  them,  were  they  to  make  the  attempt,  he,  by  a  signal 
prudently  given,  declined  laying  hands  on  him."  * 

That  Mr.  McCormick  sent  Heckewelder  word  that  some 
kind  of  a  plot  had  been  laid  at  Upper  Sandusky  to  take  off 
or  kill  Zeisberger,  is  doubtless  true ;  but  that  he  did  not  men- 
tion Girty  as  in  any  way  connected  with  it,  or  as  having 
been  deputed  to  carry  it  out,  is  evident.  In  his  letter  to 
Brodhead,  written  at  the  very  time  that  Girty  first  reached 

•  Heckewi'lder'g  Narrative,  pp.  204,  205.  Compare,  in  this  connection, 
and  in  nearly  the  same  strain,  Heckewelder's  Indian  Nations  (Itichel's  edi- 
tion), p.  279.  The  discrepancy  between  this  account  and  that  given  in  his 
letter,  written  over  forty  years  before,  will  be  noticed.  It  would  have  been, 
forsooth,  an  act  of  great  bravery  for  Girty  and  his  seven  Mingoes,  who  had 
come  all  the  way  from  the  head  of  the  Scioto  for  the  express  purpose  of  l<ill- 
ing  or  capturing  Zeisberger,  now  that  the  person  they  were  looking  for  was 
before  them  and  unarmed,  to  have  been  deterred — frightened  back,  as  i* 
were — by  four  DelawKres  I 


Uhlortj  of  thf  dirtjH.  108 

Coshocton,  the  Moravian  not  only  dooa  not  say  a  word  about 
any  plot,  hut,  as  wc  have  soon,  gives  anotlier  and  the  real  rea- 
son for  liis  ((lirty's)  advent  to  the  Delaware  towii.  After 
many  years,  in  turning  the  matter  over  in  his  mind,  it  was 
enough  for  him  that  (lirty  had  mot  Zeisbergcr  on  his  way 
back  with  his  bundle  of  letters  and  one  prisoner,  and  hail  made 
a  threatening  demonstration  on  the  occasion,  to  connect  him 
with  the  plot. 

A  recent  Moravian  writer  gives  some  additions  to  Ilcckc- 
welder's  recollections,  just  related,  citing  ''  Ileckewelder's  MS. 
Biographical  Sketch:" 

*'  Zeisbergcr  passed  much  of  his  time  [at  this  period]  in  vis- 
iting the  other  stations,  especially  at  communion  seasons.  In 
the  early  part  of  July  [177!*],  he  spent  such  a  season  at  Lich- 
tenau,  and  was  about  to  return  to  Schihibrunn,  when  Alexan- 
der McCormick,  a  trader  and  friend  of  the  mission,  arrived 
with  evil  tidings.  McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty,  he  said,  were 
still  plotting  Zeisberger's  ruin  ;  a  party  of  Indians,  led  by 
Girty  himself,  was  on  his  trail,  with  orders  cither  to  bring 
him  alive  to  Detroit,  or  to  shoot  him  down  and  take  his  scalp. 
It  was  a  most  timely  warning,  to  which,  however,  he  listened 
unmoved,  and  mounted  his  horse  to  go.     .     . 

"A  short  distance  from  Lichtenau,  the  trail  forked,  one 
branch  leading  to  a  salt-lick  about  two  miles  distant.  Down 
the  branch  he  turned,  lost  in  meditation,  and  did  not  perceive 
his  mistake  until  he  had  advanced  a  considerable  distance. 
Retracing  his  steps,  he  got  to  the  fork  just  as  his  escort  came 
up.  If  he  had  not  missed  the  road  they  would  not  have  over- 
taken him,  and  he  would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  his  ene- 
mies. For  suddenly,  at  the  foot  of  a  little  hill,  Simon  Girty 
and  his  band  stood  before  them.  '  That's  the  man !'  cried 
Girty  to  the  Indian  captain,  pointing  out  Zeisberger.  '  Now 
do  what  you  have  been  told  to  do.'  But  in  that  instant  there 
burst  through  the  bushes  two  athletic  young  hunters  of  Gos- 
chachgunk  [Coshocton].  Divining  at  a  glance  the  posture  of 
affairs,  they  placed  themselves  in  front  of  Zeisberger,  drew 
their  tomahawks,  and  began  deliberately  to  load  their  rifles. 


104  History  of  the  Girtys. 


As  soon  as  the  Wyandot  captain  saw  this,  and  moreover  recog- 
nized among  Zeisberger's  escort  the  great  Giikkikan,  he  shook 
his  head,  motioned  to  his  men,  and  disappeared  with  them  in 
the  forest.  Girty  followed  him,  gnashing  his  teeth  in  impotent 
rage."  * 

It  is  thus  we  find  set  forth,  finally,  Ileckewelder's  relation 
of  the  meeting  of  Simon  Girty  and  Zeisberger.  Now,  McCor- 
mick  goes  himself  to  Lichtenau.  Now,  Girty  is  "  ordered  to 
bring  him  [Zeisberger]  alive  to  Detroit,  or  to  shoot  him  down 
and  take  his  scalp."  Now,  it  is  a  Wyandot  (not  a  Mingo)  cap- 
tain that  Girty  addresses.  Now,  instead  of  saying  to  him, 
"  act  agreeable  to  the  promise  you  have  made,"  Girty  orders 
him  to  do  what  he  had  "  been  told  to  do."  Then  the  "  two 
athletic  you''i2  hunt'irs "  begin  "  deliberately  to  load  their 
rifles."  This  and  the  "  great  Giikkikan  "  wore  too  much  for 
the  "  Wyandot  captain !"  He  disappears  "  in  the  forest," 
followed  by  Girty,  "gnashing  his  teeth  in  impotent  rage!"  t 

It  is  not  known  Avhat  became  of  the  prisoaur  captured  by 
Girty,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  was  tortured  at  the  stake  by 
the  Mingoes,  after  the  return  of  the  renegade  and  his  warriors  to 
the  Mingo  villages. J  The  letters  which  Girty  had  secured  were 
taken  by  him  to  Detroit  and  delivered  to  Captain  Lernoult. 

Note. — Heckewelder's  letters  to  Brodhead,  mentioning  the 
name  of  Girty  frequently,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
already  a  leading  spirit  in  the  Ohio  wilderness  for  evil  toward 
the  Americans,  and  of  course  he  was  in  the  border  settlements 
every-where  denounced.  Girty  heard  of  this  general  denun- 
ciation. "  They  can  do  their  best  against  me  and  I  Avill  against 
them,"  were  his  words,  in  effect. 

*  Suhweinitz'  Life  and  Times  of  Dnvid  Zeislmrgor,  pp.  47:^475. 

t  Rplying  upon  wiiut  Sohweinitz  siiys  in  his  work  just  cited  as  to  Girty's 
meetini;  Zeisbersjer,  I  have,  in  a  previous  account  of  the  renegade,  given 
credenee  to  Heckewelder's  fiction  as  rehited  above  (see  pp.  189,  190,  r''  A.. 
Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Smidusky,  etc.) 

X  "  Simon  Gii'ty  is  for  the  Mingo  country  us  soon  as  he  returns  [from  hii 
search,  not  after  Zeisberger,  but  after  the  '  packet  of  letters ']" — Hecke^ekler 
to  Broilhcad,  June  SO,  1T7',),  in  Penn^iylvanm  Archive*,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VII., 
p.  524. 


History  of  the  Girty%.  105 


CHAPTER   XII. 

That  George  Girty  was  not  in  the  wilderness  beyond  the 
Ohio  at  the  beginning  of  1778,  has  previously  been  explained, 
so,  also,  his  having  been,  on  the  12th  of  February,  of  that 
year,  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  in  Captain  Jame8 
Willing's  company  of  marines,  in  the  Continental  army.  He 
remained  with  his  company  until  the  4th  day  of  May,  1779, 
when  he  deserted  his  colors,*  making  his  way  subse(iuently  to 
Detroit.  His  arrival  was  noted  by  some  one  who  wrote  out 
a  statement  of  his  experiences  after  leaving  Fort  Pitt  in  the 
early  part  of  the  previous  year,  doubtic  w  for  the  Detroit  com- 
mandant's perusal.  But  the  account  erroneously  explains  (as 
might  be  expected)  how  he  became  a  member  of  Willing's 
company,  and  why  he  accepted  a  commission  fi-om  that 
oflScer : 

"August  8th  [1779]. — Arrived  [at  Detroit]  George  Girty,  a 
person  whom  a  Mr.  McKee  had  employed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  war  and  sent  with  a  gentleman  in  the 
king's  service  going  down  the  Mississippi,  to  prevent  his  en- 
tering into  the  service  of  the  Americans — they  having  made 
frequent  application  to  him,  being  an  active  woodsman  and 
well  acquainted  with  several  of  the  Indian  languages. 

"■  He  was  taken  and  robbed  on  the  Mississippi  by  a  James 
Willing,  captain  of  a  boat  sent  down  the  Ohio  by  Congress  to 
plunde"  the  merchants  and  inhabitants  of  that  country,  which 
he  did,  without  distinction.  And  as  Girty  was  carried  to 
Orleans  a  prisoner  by  him,  and  threatened  with  being  sent  to 
the  mines,  he  acquiesced  to  a  proposal  of  the  said  Willing  to 
appoint  him  an  ersign  [second  lieutenant]  in  the  American 
service,  in  hopes  of  getting  up  to  the  Illinois,  whence  he  could 
make  his  escape  to  Detroit,  where,  he  had  been  informed,  he 


•  Potter'8  American  Monthly,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  388. 


106  Hi%tory  of  the  Oirtys. 

would  find  Mr.  McKee  and  his  [Girty's]  brothers.  He  had 
neither  taken  the  oaths  nor  acted  in  an  official  capacity,  when 
a  party  of  Bj  itish  soldiers  were  brought  prisoners  to  the  Illi- 
nois (soon  after  his  arrival  there),  to  some  of  whom  he  made 
known  his  intentions,  and  offered  to  conduct  them  safely  to 
Detroit,  which  sixteen  of  them  agreed  to ;  but  one  entering 
an  information  and  making  oath  against  him,  he  was  seized, 
put  into  irons,  and  closely  confined ;  but  soon  after  found  means 
to  effect  his  escape  to  the  Spanish  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
there  collected  five  soldiers  of  the  King's  (or  8th)  regiment, 
three  deserters  from  the  Americans,  and  one  man  of  Governor 
Hamilton's  volunteer  company,  all  of  whom  he  has  brought  to 
this  place  [Detroit],  having  set  out  the  19th  of  June  last  from 
the  Illinois, 

"  He  says  that,  upon  his  arrival  at  the  Spanish  garrison  [in 
St.  Louis],  the  commandant  ordered  him  into  confinement,  but 
next  morning,  after  '-^ome  inquiry,  released  him,  informing  him 
that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  interfere  with  or  molest  any  per- 
son from  either  side,  unless  for  murder  or  some  capital  offense 
against  civil  society,  and  that  it  was  his  desire  to  remain  in 
tranquillity  and  treat  all  well  who  behave  as  becometh  them. 

"  The  rebels,  he  says,  were  preparing  to  carry  on  an  expe- 
dition against  Detroit,  but  that  their  credit  was  hurt  by  their 
bills  being  returned  protested  from  New  Orleans,  and  the  only 
recourse  left  them  was  to  purchase  provisions  and  pack-horses 
with  the  merchandise  taken  from  Governor  Hamilton,  as  the 
Canadians  were  concealing  their  property,  rather  than  dispose 
of  it  for  Continental  currency ;  and  that  the  number  of  Vir- 
ginians that  could  be  raised  to  come  this  way  [towards  De- 
troit] from  that  quarter  would  not  exceed  two  hundred,  and 
perhaps  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  Canadians, 
the  whole  to  make  five  hundred  men,  destitute  of  almost  every 
necessary  requisite  for  such  an  undertaking ;  the  field-piece 
taken  at  Vincennes  being  the  only  one  fit  for  such  a  service  in 
their  possession. 

"As  they  fell  upon  the  Wabash  near  the  Vermillion  town, 
they   were   informed  by  the   Indians  of  that  village   that  a 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  107 

Colonel  Clark,  the  rebel  commandant  ai.  the  Illinois,  was  on 
his  Way  against  Detroit,  but  that,  notwithstanding,  the  In- 
dians treated  him  [Girty]  kindly,  and  furnished  him  and  his 
companions  with  provisions  to  carry  them  on  their  journey. 
They  pushed  up  the  Wabash,  and  met  on  their  way  seven 
Frenchmen,  driving  fifteen  or  twenty  empty  pack-horses 
towarucs  the  enemy,  which  appeared  designed  for  their  [the 
enemy's]  use,  and  induced  Girty  to  seize  a  Frenchman,  whom  he 
looked  upon  to  be  the  principal  person  of  their  party,  in  order  to 
bring  him  to  Detroit,  to  account  to  the  commanding  officer  for 
his  conduct ;  but  they  were  overtaken  at  a  Miamis  village 
upon  Eel  river  by  a  party  of  Weatanon  Indians,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  one  Gamblier,  a  French  trader,  who,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  some  other  Frenchman,  robbed  them  of  their  arms, 
released  their  prisoner,  and  endeavored  to  persuade  the  In- 
dians to  take  them  back  and  deliver  them  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy. 

"  The  chiefs  of  the  village,  being  made  acquainted  with  the 
design,  assembled  and  made  a  speech  to  the  following  eflfect : 
'  That  the  road  leading  to  Detroit  had  been  opened  and  made 
clear  by  the  mutual  consent  of  their  father,  who  sat  at  that 
place,  and  his  children,  the  chiefs  ard  wise  men  of  all  nations. 
That  it  behooved  them  to  keep  it  so,  for,  by  it,  all  their  wants 
were  supplied,  and  they  would  noc  allow  foolish  young  men, 
instigated  by  ill-disposed  Frenchmen,  to  disturb  it.  There- 
fore, the  subjects  of  their  father,  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
must  travel  it  in  peace ;  and  they  recommended  it  to  them  to 
keep  the  straight  road  forward,  as  it  never  yet  was  sprinkled 
with  blood.  No  nation  would  be  so  hardy  as  to  molest  them ; 
and  as  to  the  Virginians,  they  had  nothing  to  expect  from 
them ;  they  were  unable  to  supply  their  own  wants ;  therefore, 
they  had  nothing  to  spare  to  Indians.'  "  * 

"  George  Girty,"  wrote  Masmi  Bolton  to  General  Haldi- 
mand,  from  Niagara,  on  the  twoty  seventh  of  August,  "ar- 
rived at  Detroit  on  the  nintL  [e'l^hth]  instant,  with  four 
soldiers  of  the  king's  regiment    vho  were  taken  with  Gov- 


*  MS.  account,  Haldimand  P'l  trj. 


108  History  of  the  Girtys. 

ernor  Hamilton),  three  Virginia  deserters  and  Captain  La 
Mothe's  fifer.*  George  was  at  once  engaged  by  Calptain 
Lernouit,  in  the  Indian  Department  as  interpreter  (also  to  go 
to  war  when  necessary),  and  sent  to  the  Shawanese,  with 
head-quarters  at  Wapatomica,  at  the  same  wages  paid  his  two 
brothers,  namely :  sixteen  shillings,  York  currency,  a  day.f 
It  was  also  the  same  pay  as  was  then  received  by  Matthew 
Elliott,  Pierre  Drouillard,  William  Tucker,  Robert  Surphlit 
(McKee's  cousin),  and  Fontenoy  Dequindre — all  engaged  in 
the  Indian  Department.  He  (George)  began  his  inglorious 
career  against  his  country  as  well  equipped  as  his  brothers 
Simon  and  James ;  for  he  was  not  only  allowed  one  and  one- 
half  rations  a  day,  but  was  furnished  with  ii  gun,  three  horses, 
and  a  saddle  and  bridle. 

George  acted  also  as  disbursing  agent  at  the  Shawanese 
towns,  dealing  out  supplies  to  the  Shawanese.  A  cotempo- 
raneods  statement,  as  to  himself  and  others,  of  goods  thus 
furnished  the  Indians,  is  extant: 

£.       s.    d. 
"  Charles  Beaubien  furnished  goods  to  In- 
dians at  Miami  Town 1603     8     0 

Matthew  Elliott,  in  Indian  country 47     6     9    '  , 

:    Captain  McKee,  "  "       835     5     6        " 

George  Girty,  "  "       75  17     0" 

A  charge  "  to  George  Girty  "  at  this  period  is  also  in  ex- 
istence : 

Bucks. 

"  To  salt  at  Shawanese  towns 4 

To  116  pounds  flour 14 

To  1  bag  with     do   2 

To  tobacco 3 


23 


>) 


*  MS.  letter,  Hnlditnand  Papers. 

t"I  wish  your  excellency  could  allow  Mr.  [Duperron]  Baby,  the  now 
Actina;  Indian  Commissary,  something  more  than  the  common  and  low-lived 
interpreters — who  all  have,  like  he,  two  dollars  per  day." — Brehm  to  Gen- 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  109 

Deer  skins  then  were  worth  about  a  dollar  each.  These  skins 
all  through  the  Indian  country,  previous  to  and  during  the 
Revolution,  passed  as  money  (under  the  names  of  "bucks" 
and  "  does  ")  instead  of  sterling  and  York  currency.* 

After  delivering  to  Captain  Lernoult,  at  Detroit,  the 
"  packet  of  letters  "  he  had  secured  in  one  of  the  border  set- 
tlements to  the  eastward,  Simon  Girty  returned  to  the  Ohio 
wilderness.  A  plan  had  been  laid  by  the  Detroit  commander 
for  him  again  to  march  to  the  Tuscarawas  to  learn  tlie  true 
state  of  aifairs  at  Fort  Laurens.  At  Sandusky,  Girty  wrote 
Lernoult  that  there  were  "  no  certain  accounts  of  the  rebels 
leaving  Tuscarawas  [Fort  Laurens]."  "  I  intend,"  he  adds, 
"  to  go  there  directly,  and  shall  send  you  the  token  you  gave 
me  at  Detroit,  if  they  are  not  there.  If  the  Delawares  are  in 
possession  of  fort,  I  intend  to  turn  them  out  and  burn  it 
(if  my  party  is  able),  as  you  gave  me  the  liberty  to  act  as  1 
thought  best ;  and  they  and  I  are  not  on  the  best  of  terms."  f 
But  the  post  had  then  been  abandoned  by  the  Americans  for 
about  a  month;  and,  as  the  fortification  was  not  afterward 
burned,  it  would  seem  that  Girty  did  not  march  thither  as  he 
had  contemplated.  Indeed,  he  soon  went  in  quite  another 
direction,  as  will  presently  be  seen.  .;  ' 

In  September,  James  Girty,  who  had  spent  a  large  portion 
of  the  previous  twelve  months  with  the  Shawanese,  was  at 
Detroit,  where  Captain  Lernoult  needed  his  services  ;  as  that 
officer  was  just  then  greatly  excited  over  the  prospective  visit 
from  the  Americans  led  by  George  Rogers  Clark.  "As  I  can 
not,"  wrote  the  Captain,  "  spare  a  soldier  now  (our  numbers 
are  reduced),  I  intend  to  send  one  James  Girty  to  the  Shaw- 
anese towns  to  endeavor  to  raise  a  party  to  reconnoitre  toward 
the  Weas,  and  to  communicate  this  news  [the  visit  of  Clark] 
to  all  the  Indians  in  our  interest  to  harass  the  enemy  should 

eral  Haldimand,  from  Detroit,  July  5, 1779,  in  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections, 
Vol.  IX,  p.  418. 

*  Address  of  Charles  I.  Walker  before  the  State  Historical  Society  of 
"Wisconsin,  January  81,  1871,  pp.  28,  30,  41. 

t  Girty  to  Lernoult,  September  6,  1779. — MS.  lett«ir,  Haldimand  Papers. 


110  History  of  the  Girtys. 

they   advance    further."  *      But   Clark's   endeavors    proved 
[;  abortive  and  James  Girty's  efforts  were  for  naught.     The  lat- 

ter remained  at  Wapatomica. 
/  In  June,  1778,  David  Rogers,  who,  on  the  14th  of  January 

preceding,  had  been  selected  by  Virginia  to  proceed  to  New 
Orleans  to  purchase  supplies  for  the  use  of  the   troops  of 
t  that  state,  raised  a  party  of  about  thirty  men  in  the  region 

of  what  is  now  Brownsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  and, 
in  keel-boats,  floated  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  He  did 
not  reach  ^iew  Orleans  until  after  considerable  trouble  and 
delay.  When  he  arrived,  he  found  he  would  have  to  re- 
turn to  St.  Louis,  to  obtain  the  goods,  for  which  he  was  given 
an  order.  From  the  latter  place,  in  the  autumn  of  1779,  he 
->^  made  his  way  up  the  Ohio  to  the  Falls,  where  he  was  rein- 

'**A''^ /V<fc*^f«^ forced.  On  the  ■27th  of  September,  with  about  seventy  men, 
^*^''-**^^ur€^  he  continued  up  the  river  to  a  point  above  the  mouth  of  the 
''*^^*^'*i-^.  5"-  Licking,  but  about  three  miles  below  that  of  the  Little  Miami, 
"i*-  ^  k^  when,  on  the  4th  of  October,  he  discovered  Indians.  Rogers 
**  'VSZ.-  made  a  disposition  of  his  men  upon  the  Kentucky  side  of  the 
Ohio  to  surprise  the  enemy,  consisting  of  Senecas  (Mingoes), 
Wyandots,  Delawares,  and  Shawanese,  under  the  general  di- 
rection of  Simon  Girty,  his  brother  George,  and  Matthew  El- 
liott, who  had  reached  the  Ohio  river  the  evening  before. 
Their  force  wiis  nearly  a  hundred  strong,  but  over  half  were 
out  hunting.  However,  they  had  discovered  Rogers,  and  they 
acted  quickly,  with  the  result  of  killing  not  less  than  forty-two 
of  his  party  (Rogers  among  the  number,  shot  by  Simon  Girty 
probably)  and  making  five  of  his  men  prisoners.  The  loss  of 
the  Indians  was  two  killed  and  three  slightly  wounded.  Forty 
bales  of  dry  goods,  a  quantity  of  rum  and  fusees,  together  with 
a  "  chest  of  hard  specie,"  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors.f 
"I     .     .     .     have  the  pleasure,"  wrote  DePeyster  to  Hal- 

•  Lernoult  to  Bolton,  Scpteniber  25, 1779.— MS.  letter,  Hald inland  Papers. 

t  Washington-Irvino  Correspondence,  pp.  44,  45,  and  the  authorities  there 
cited.  Elliott  to  Captain  Lermiult  (Official  Report),  from  the  Shawanese 
towns,  October  11,  1779 — MS.  letter;  also,  John  Campbell  to  same,  October 
23,  1779— MS.  letter;  both  from  the  Haldimand  Papers. 


Hidory  of  the  Oirly».  Ill 

dimand,  "  to  acquaint  you  that  .  .  .  Simon  Girty,  hia 
brother  [George],  and  Matthew  Elliott,  have  defeated  a 
Colonel  Rogers  on  the  Ohio,  a  stroke  which  must  greatly  dis- 
concert the  rebels  at  Pittsburgh."  *  This  success  increased 
the  prestige  of  the  three  white  leaders  in  a  marked  degree 
throi  s^hout  the  Indian  country  and  at  Detroit. 

After  their  successful  attack  on  Rogers  and  his  party,  both 
the  Girtys  and  Elliott — "  myself  and  the  two  Girtys,''  as  the 
last  named  wrote  to  Lernoult — proceeded  to  Detroit.  Simon 
subsequently  returned  to  the  Mingoes,  George  to  the  Shaw- 
anese. 

Although  Simon  and  James  Girty  l:ad  been  outlawed  and 
were  traitors,  and  George  was  a  deserter,  they  were  looked 
upon  by  the  British  in  quite  a  different  light.  To  the  latter 
they  were  only  escaped  borderers,  who  were  anxious  to  make 
their  peace  with  "  his  majesty ;"  and  it  was  now  sufficiently 
evident  to  the  Detroit  commandant  that,  all  three  could  be  re- 
lied upon  under  any  circumstances  as  faithful  adherents  to  the 
crown. 

If  we  turn  our  eyes  to  the  upper  lakes  during  the  summer  of 
1779,  we  shall  still  see  Major  DePeyster  in  command  at  Mich- 
ilimackinac,  who  had,  for  a  considerable  time  sought  from  Gen- 
eral Frederick  Haldiniand,  at  Quebec,  to  be  transferred  to  some 
other  post.  The  general  finally  ordered  him  to  the  command 
of  Fort  Lernoult,  as  the  new  fortification  erected  at  Detroit 
•was  called,  where  he  arrived  in  October. 

The  taking  of  the  Illinois  by  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  the 
utter  defeat  of  all  of  Hamilton's  plans  of  conquest  and  his 
capture  by  the  Americans,  by  this  time  had  lessened  the  esti- 
mation of  the  Indians  in  the  West  for  the  British,  and  DePey- 
ster felt  the  necessity  of  striking  an  effective  blow  to  recover 
whatever  of  prestige  had  been  lost  by  the  failure  of  the  lieu- 
tenant-governor ;  for  the  confidence  of  the  confederated  na- 
tions in  league  with  the  English  must  be  retained,  let  the 
cost  be  ever  so  great.  Disaffection,  also,  was  rapidly  spread- 
ing among  the  French  at  Detroit ;  they  now  had  less  liking 

•  MS.  letter,  November  1,  1779,  Haldimand  Papers. 


112  History  of  the  Girtys. 


for  the  British  cause  ;  and,  since  the  treaty  between  France 
and  the  United  States,  they  began  to  express,  in  various  ways, 
their  sympathy  with  the  Americans.  Evidently  DePeyster 
must  do  something,  and  that  quickly. 

Note  I. — "  [Simon]  Girty  won  the  widest  fame  on  the  border 
by  his  cunning  and  cruelty ;  but  he  was  really  a  less  able  foe 
than  the  two  others  [McKee  and  Elliott],"  says  Roosevelt. 
That  he  was  not  as  able  a  foe,  during  the  Revolution,  as  these 
two  men,  particularly  McKee,  is  true ;  but  it  was  not  because 
of  a  lack  of  bravery,  but  of  military  position.  In  hand-to- 
hand  encounters,  he  was  as  courageous  as  they.  As  to  his 
cunning,  there  is  no  evidence  extant  that  he  was  particularly 
gifted  in  that  way.     ,. 

Note  II. — "  The  frontiersmen  hated  [Simon]  Girty  as  they 
did  no  other  man,  and  he  was  credited  with  numerous  actions 
done  by  other  white  leaders  of  the  Indians." — Roosevelt 
(The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  9,  note.)  This  is 
strictly  true ;  and  the  sentence  following,  by  that  author,  can 
not  be  questioned :  "  The  British  accounts  say  comparatively 
little  about  him."  But  the  next  assertion,  by  the  same  writer, 
is  open  to  criticism :  "  He  seems  to  have  often  fought  with 
the  Indians  as  one  of  their  own  number,  while  his  associates  led 
organized  bands  of  rangers."  The  question  here  to  be  an- 
swered is,  who  were  his  "  associates  "  in'  the  Ohio  wilderness 
during  the  Revolution?  No  persons,  surely,  were  more  in- 
timate with  him  than  his  two  brothers,  and  they  did  not  lead 
"  organized  bands  of  rangers,"  nor  did  Captain  McKee  or 
Elliott,  during  that  war.  There  were  no  rangers  at  Detroit 
during  the  Revolution  but  "  Butler's,"  and  these  were  always 
led  by  their  own  officers,  none  of  whom  were  Girty's  "  asso- 
ciates " — none  "  Indian  officers  "  or  others,  of  the  British  In- 
dian Department  in  the  West. 

Note  III. — In  "An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition 
against  Sandusky,  under  Col.  William  Crawford,  in  1782" 


History  of  the  Girtys.  113 

(p.  180),  the  inference  is  that  DePeyster,  esirly  in  1770,  found 
Girty  ready  for  any  undertaking,  cither  against  the  Americans, 
or  the  [Moravian]  missionaries  and  their  converts  upon  the  Mus- 
kingum, as  his  hostility  to  the  hitter  seemed  as  unbounded  as 
to  the  former.'"  This  needs  correcting  in  two  particuhirs. 
DePeyster  was  not  then  in  command  at  Detroit  to  give  him 
orders  "  for  any  undertaking,''  nor  was  lie  (Girty)  hostile  to 
the  "  Moravian "'  Indians  at  that  date,  or  subsequently.  He 
had,  howcver,'no  good  feeling  toward  the  missionaries. 

Note  IV. — The  letter  of  Simon  Girty  to  Captain  Lernoult, 

wherein  he  states  his  determination  to  march  to  Fort  Laurens 

and  turn   out  any  Delawares  found  there,  "  if  my  party  is 

able,"  is  as  follows  : 

"  Sandusky,  Sept.  6, 1779. 

"Sir; — I  take  the  liberty  to  acquaint  you  that  I  intend 
leaving  this  place  to-morroAv.  There  is  a  party  of  twenty-five 
Wyandots  that  have  been  turned  to  go  as  volunteers  with  me 
the  road  I  proposed  when  I  left  Detroit ;  likewise  a  party  of 
ten  Mingoes,  which  party  Sandithtas  commands.  The  Wyan- 
dots are  commanded  by  Seyatamah.  '  ;    • 

"  Sir,  I  refer  you  to  Captain  McKee  for  the  knowledge  of 
the  above-mentioned  chiefs,  if  you  are  not  already  acquainted 
with  their  names.  To-morrow,  my  friend,  Nouthsaka,  sets  off 
with  ten  warriors  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  Our  great  friend. 
Captain  Pipe,  is  gone  to  Fort  Pitt  to  a  council ;  likewise 
Maulmatas  and  Duentate.  Six  days  ago,  a  party  of  Wyandots 
brought  here  three  prisoners  from  Kentucky.  They  say  there 
are  three  hundred  men  under  pay  in  those  parts.  They  also 
say  there  are  nine  forts  in  and  about  Kentucky. 

"  There  are  no  certain  accounts  of  the  rebels  leaving  Tus- 
carawas [Fort  Laurens].  I  intend  to  go  there  directly,  and 
shall  send  you  the  token  you  gave  me  at  Detroit  if  they  are 
not  there.  If  the  Delawares  are  in  possession  of  the  fort,  I 
intend  to  turn  them  out  and  burn  the  fort  (if  my  party  are 
able),  as  you  gave  me  the  liberty  to  act  as  I  thought  best,  and 
they  and  I  are  not  on  the  best  of  terms. 
8 


114  Il'mhry  of  the  Oirljn. 

"  Yesterday,  Sandithtiis  arrived  here,  with  the  account  of 
ten  parties  of  Shawanese  that  are  gone  to  war.  This  is  all  I 
have  to  acquaint  you  with  at  present. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  Simon  Girty. 
"  To  Captain  Lernoult,  Commander  at  Detroit.'' 

Note  V. — "They  [Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty]  were 
for  a  time  apparently  weaned  away  from  the'  ndopted  breth- 
ren, but  they  never  even  then  tought  ag^iine'  them,  were 
always  at  ease  in  their  company,  and  .  .  .  ultimately  took 
up  the  savage  life  again." — Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  p.  259.  But,  as  we  have  already  shown,  Simon  Girty 
fought,  not  only  against  the  Shawanesc,  but  against  his 
"  adopted  brethren,"  the  Senecas  (Mingoes),  in  Lord  Dun- 
moi'e's  War.  He  took  part,  also,  it  will  be  remembered,  in 
the  "  Squaw  Campaign  "  against  the  Indians.  Neither  Simon 
nor  James,  strictly  speaking,  took  up  the  savage  life  again  : 
dressing  as  the  Indians  dressed ;  hunting  with  the  Indians ; 
conforming  to  their  habits,  manners,  and  customs  in  all  things. 
But  of  this  hereafter.  '  . 

Note  VI. — The  site  of  Fort  Laurens  was  about  ten  miles 
due  north  from  the  present  New  Philadelphia,  Ohio.  Close 
by,  in  1764,  Col.  Bouquet  erected  a  small  stockaded  fort  (see 
An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  the  Ohio 
Indians  in  the  year  MDCCLXIV,  under  the  Command  of 
Henry  Bouquet,  Esq.,  Colonel,  etc.,  pp.  51, 52).  Fort  Laurens 
covered  about  half  an  acre  of  ground,  and  the  parapet  walls 
were  crowned  with  pickets  made  of  the  split  halves  of  the 
largest  trunks  of  trees.  It  was  one  mile  south  of  what  is  now 
Bolivar,  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.  A  plan  of  the  fort  was 
made  in  January,  1850, — what  then  existed  of  the  fortifica- 
tion being  taken  as  a  basis  for  the  drawing  (see  Mitchener's 
Historic  Events,  in  the  Tuscarawas  and  Muskingum  Valleys, 
etc.,  pp.  128, 129).     The  fort  remained  entire  as  late  as  1782. 


Jlintory  of  (he  Girli/s.  115 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  spring  of  1780  opened  gloomily  upon  the  western  fron- 
tiers of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  As  early  as  the  middle 
of  March,  the  Indians  began  their  depredj-**  ns.  At  a  sugar 
camp  on  Raccoon  creek,  a  stream  Howing  into  the  Ohio,  on 
the  left,  thirty-three  miles  by  the  course  of  the  river  below 
Pittsburgh,  five  men  were  killed  and  three  girls  and  three 
boys  taken  prisoners.  On  the  thirtieth,  Ileckewelder,  at 
Coshocton,  wrote  Brodhead  :  "  We  have  heard  nothing  at  all 
this  whole  winter  what  the  enemy  [British  and  their  Indian 
allies  west]  are  about ;  the  snow  being  so  deep  and  the  weather 
80  continually  cold  hag,  I  suppose,  prevented  this ;  but  this 
day  I  am  informed  that  three  young  fellows,  two  Delawares 
and  one  Wyandot,  have  turned  back  from  a  body  of  warriors 
consisting  of  twenty-six  men.  They  inform  that  five  or  six 
companies  of  warriors  have  gone  out ;  two  parties  of  Wyan- 
dots  toward  Beaver  creek  and  the  others  down  this  river 
[Muskingum]."  -^ 

On  the  2d  of  April,  Brodhead  was  written  to  by  David 
Zeisberger  from  the  Tuscarawas :  "  I  have  not  heard  of  any 
hostile  thoughts  among  the  Cooshocking  [Coshocton]  Indians 
[Delawares]  yet,  and  if  I  should  perceive  any  thing  of  that 
kind  I  would  give  you  intelligence  by  an  express.  But  yes- 
terday we  heard  that  a  party  of  warriors,  among  which  was 
the  well-known  Monsey,  Washnash,  has  attacked  a  boat  in  the 
river  [Ohio],  killed  three  men,  and  has  taken  twenty-one  men, 
women,  and  children  prisoners,  and  likewise  the  whole  boat. 
No  doubt  this  action  will  encourage  them  to  do  more  mis- 
chief." t  There  were  three  boats  in  all.  They  were  attacked 
a  few  miles  below  Captina  creek,  which  empties  into  the  Ohio 
on   the  right,  twe  ty-one  miles  below  Wheeling,  and  one  of 

•  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  152. 
t  Id.,  p.  159. 


IIG  lI'tHfory  of  thi'  OirfijH. 

them  captured,  as  mentioned  by  Zeisberj^cr ;  the  others 
reached  Kentucky  witliout  furtlior  niolestatioii.  Tlie  boat 
wliich  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  savages  belonged  to  !i  man  by 
the  name  of  Reynolds,  who  was  either  killed  at  the  time  or 
was  soon  after  tortured  to  death  in  the  wilderness ;  a  small 
child,  his  daughter,  was  shot  in  the  Ixfat,  probably  by  acci- 
dent.    The  others  of  his  family  were  i-n()tured. 

In  one  of  the  boats  which  escajjcd  was  J'eter  Malott,  from 
Maryland;  but  his  wife  Sarah  and  several  children,  being  in 
the  boat  which  was  taken,  were  made  prisoners.  The  old- 
est of  the  children  was  a  daughter,  Catharine,  a  girl  in  her 
teens.-'-  Sin\on  Girty,  who,  it  may  be  premised,  afterAvard 
married  her,  has  generally  been  spoken  of  as  having  been 
present  at  the  time  of  her  being  made  a  prisoner ;  but 
such  was  not  the  case.  There  are  accounts  e.xtant,  not  only 
of  his  having  taken  a  prominent  part,  in  the  capture  (»f  Rey- 
nolds's boat,  but  detailing  the  conversation  which  then  took 
place ;  these,  however,  are  fictitious.  The  Indians  who  did 
the  mischief  were  Munceys,  a  DelaAvare  clan  living  to  the 
westward.  With  these  Girty  had  not  the  particular  fellow- 
ship that  he  had  with  the  IMingoes  and  Wyandots.  The  sav- 
ages, with  their  plunder  and  prisoners,  immediately  made  their 
way  to  the  Muskingum,  where  they  halted  for  rest.f  It  was 
either  from  "  Moravian  "  Delawares  who  then  saw  them,  or 
from  some  of  the  Coshocton  Delawares  (the  latter  had  not  yet 
taken  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Americans),  that  Zeisberger 
learned  the  particulars  which,  on  the  2d  of  April,  he  trans- 
mitted to  Brodhead  at  Fort  Pitt,  as  before  mentioned. 

There  were,  at  this  time,  straggling  villages  of  Delawares, 
from  Coshocton  Avestward,  up  the  Walhonding,  across  to  the 
Scioto,  thence  to  the  Mad  river;  and,  in  general,  the  further 

*  Compare,  in  this  connection,  Waeliington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  47, 
which  gives  a  correct  account  of  the  afiair,  so  far  as  it  goes,  except  us  to  the 
number  of  boats. 

t  See,  as  to  the  capture  of  the  Malotts,  McKnight's  Our  Western  Border, 
pp.  42*2,  423.  But  the  account  there  given  is  erroneous  in  suino  of  its  par- 
ticulars. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  117 


roinoved  from  tlie  Muskiiij^mii,  the  iiioro  hostile  to  the  Aiiier- 
icaiis  wcro  the  ()cc'ii|iuiits  of  these  towns;  but  the  loyalty  of 
Zoisberger  and  Ilcckcwelder  could  then  bo  counted  on,  under 
all  circumstances :  the  former  being  somewhat  cautious  and 
circumspect;  the  latter,  fearless  and  outspoken,  though  tak- 
ing pains  that  his  zeal  and  aid  should  not  be  discovered  to  the 
enemy. 

JJeforo  entering  upon  an  inquiry  as  to  the  part  taken  by 
the  Girtys  in  the  stirring  events  of  1780  in  the  West,  it  is 
proper  to  state  that  the  winter  following  the  victory  obtained 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami  over  the  force  under  Rog- 
ers, was  spent  by  them  in  the  Ohio  wilderness  among  the  Min- 
goes  and  Shawanese.  Early  in  March,  the  three  brothers — 
Simon,  dames,  and  George — arrived  together  at  Detroit,-'' 
called  thither,  it  is  presumed,  l)y  Del'eyster  to  get  from  them 
whatever  information  they  might  have  obtained  during  the 
preceding  three  or  four  months  concerning  the  movements  of 
the  "  rebels  "  upon  the  border. 

In  the  spring  of  that  year,  emigration  began  early ;  not 
less  than  three  hundred  large  family  boats  filled  with  emi- 
grants arrived  at  the  Falls,  where  the  town  of  TiOuisville  was 
established  by  an  act  of  the  Virginia  legislature.  Colonel 
Clark,  by  direction  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  governor  of 
Virginia,  erected  a  fort  on  the  cast  side  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  upon  the  lands 
of  the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  calling  it  Fort  Jefferson. 

To  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  Indians,  and  in  hopes  of  de- 
stroying "  the  rebels  "  in  Kentucky,  on  the  Wabash,  and  at 
the  Illinois,  Lieutenant-Governor  Patrick  Sinclair,  in  command 
at  Michilimackinac,  and  Major  DePeyster,  at  Detroit,  sent 
some  white  soldiers  and  a  large  number  of  Indians  against 
those  countries  nearly  simultaneously.  The  field  of  opera- 
tions of  Sinclair  was  not  only  to  include  the  Illinois  villages, 
but  the  Spanish  settlement  of  St.  Louis  as  well ;  for  Spain 

•  DePeyster  to  Haldimand,  March  8,  1780.— MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Pa- 
pers. As  the  "three  Girtys"  remained  in  Detroit  until  the  12th  of  April,  it 
is  certain  that  Simon  was  not  present  at  the  capture  of  the  Mulotts. 


118  History  of  the  Girtys, 

was  now  at  war  also  with  Britain.  The  result  of  the  expedi- 
tion fitted  out  by  him  was  a  few  persons  killed  and  a  small 
number  of  prisoners  taken,  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis  ;  while 
Cahokia,  one  of  the  Illinois  villages  (thanks  to  the  activity  of 
the  inhabitants  and  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  hastened  thither 
froi  1  Fort  Jefferson),  met  with  a  loss  still  smaller.* 

But,  as  Ave  shall  now  sec,  the  operations  started  by  De- 
Peyster  proved  much  more  serious.  He  assembled  at  Detroit 
a  force  of  about  one  hundred,  and  fifty  Avhites  and  one  hun- 
dred lake  Indians,  provided  with  two  small  cannon,  to  assail 
the  fort  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  when,  if  successful,  they 
would  attack  other  forts  in  Kentucky.f  He  sent  in  advance 
some  Indians  by  way  of  the  Wabash  to  re-capture  Vincennes 
ai.:'  to  amuse  Clark,  who  was  supposed  to  be  at  the  Rapids 
(Louisville) — the  main  force  to  move  up  the  Mauraee  and 
down  the  Great  Miami  and  the  Ohio.  The  expedition  was  un- 
der the  command  of  Captain  Bird.  With  him  went  "  the 
three  Girtys."  Proceeding  to  the  Miami,  he  was  joined  by 
Captain  McKee  (then  Deputy  Indian  Agent  in  place  of  Jehu 
Hay,  who  was  captured  with  Hamilton)  and  a  large  Indian 
force.  The  whole  moved  to  the  Ohio,  when  Bird,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  the  Indian  chiefs,  was  compelled  to  change  his 
plans.  He  must  attack,  first,  some  of  the  interior  stations — 
"  the  forts  on  Licking  creek  "  being  most  accessible  ;  after- 
ward, he  would  drop  down  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  (Louisville). 
So  he  urged  his  pirogues  up  the  Ohio,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami,  his  Indians  then  numbering  over  seven  hundred. 

*  Michigan  Pioiieor  Collections,  Vol.  l'S.,passim.  Consult,  iilso,  Calendar 
of  Viri»iniii  State  Pajiers,  Vol.  I,  and  ScharflTs  History  of  St.  Louis,  ^'ol.  I. 
Some  additional  particulars  may  be  gleaned  from  lMllon'.s  Annals  of  St. 
Louis.    See,  too,  Wisconsin  State  Historical  Society's  Collections,  Vol.  XI. 

t  "Soon  after  the  rush  of  spring  iinniigration  was  at  its  height  [in  1780,  in 
Kentucky]  the  old  settlers  and  the  new-coniors  alike  were  thrown  into  the 
utmost  alarm  by  a  formidable  inroad  of  Indians,  accompanied  by  French 
partisans,  and  led  by  a  British  officer.  DePeyster,  a  New  York  tory  of  old 
Knickerbocker  family,  had  taken  command  at  Detroit." — Roosevelt.  That 
he  came  there  from  Michilimackinac,  or,  indeed,  that  there  was  any  such 
British  post  (which  was,  throughout  the  Revolution,  second  only  to  Detroit, 
in  the  West),  that  writer  does  not  inform  his  readers. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  119 

Captain  Bird,  after  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Licking 
river,  proceeded  up  that  stream.  And  liere,  we  may  say,  that 
Simon  Girty  had  no  command  in  the  expedition;  he  simply 
acted  as  interpreter ;  so,  too,  his  brothers,  as  their  services 
were  required.  The  enemy  reached  Ruddle's  Station  (or 
"  Fort  Liberty,"  as  it  was  sometimes  called)  without  acci- 
dent, when  McKee,  taking  two  hundred  Indians,  surrounded 
the  stockade  in  the  night.  Firing  commenced  at  daylight. 
Captain  Bird  arrived  at  noon  with  the  rest  of  the  force  and 
tlie  smaller  of  the  two  field-pieces.  After  two  discharges  of 
this  gun,  the  captain  sent  Simon  Girty  with  a  flag  of  truce 
demanding  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  According  to  Girty's 
story,  many  rifles  were  pointed  at  him  as  he  entered  the 
stocki  ^e.  He  declares  he  kept  cool,  and  informed  those  in- 
side the  pickets  that,  unless  they  surrendered,  they  would  all 
be  killed  ;  a  determination  they  clearly  saw  would  be  carried 
out  in  the  event  of  longer  resistance,  as  the  other  field-piece 
was  now  brought  up.  The  two  would  soon,  of  course,  batter 
down  the  frail  stockade. 

But  Isaac  Ruddle,  the  commander  of  the  garrison,  deter- 
mined not  to  surrender  without  making  an  effort,  at  least, 
for  terms.  He  told  Girty  he  could  not  consent  to  open  the 
gates  but  on  certain  conditions,  one  of  which  was  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  under  the  protection  of  the  British  and 
not  suffered  to  be  held  by  the  Indians.  To  these  conditions 
Bird  consented,  he  and  Captain  McKee  going  into  the  fort  to 
settle  the  terms  of  capitulation  with  Captain  Ruddle.  So  the 
station  was  surrendered,  but  the  savages  were  uncontrolable ; 
"  they  rushed  in,  tore  the  poor  children  from  their  mothers' 
breasts,  killed  and  wounded  many,"  says  Bird, — each  Indian, 
afterward,  securing,  if  in  his  power,  a  prisoner;  however,  all 
except  the  Lake  Indians  returned  theirs  to  the  Captain  the 
next  morning.  Near  three  hundred  were  takon.  The  cattle 
at  the  post  were  all  shot  down  by  the  savages  ;  this,  in  the 
end,  as  we  shall  see,  proved  a  serious  affair. 

Martin's  Station  was  next  assjiiled  with  a  similar  result. 
Bird  would  then  have  been  ^nppy  could  he  have  moved  down 


120  History  of  the  Girtys. 

the  Licking  and  Ohio,  to  attn  k  the  fort  at  Louisville;  but 
this,  now,  Avas  out  of  the  question.  He  was  nearly  out  of 
provisions,  and  there  was  danger  of  his  prisoners  starving — 
all  because  of  the  Avanton  destruction  of  the  catle  at  the  first 
fort  by  the  savages.  There  was  no  other  alternative  but  to 
return,  as  quickly  as  possible,  to  Detroit.  He  made  rapid 
marches  to  his  boats  (Avhere  most  of  his  Indians  left  him),  and 
was  soon  upon  the  Ohio  again.  After  ascending  the  Great 
Miami,  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  two  cannpn  at  Lorimer's."'" 
George  Girty,  who  had  remained  with  him  to  this  point,  now 
returned  to  the  ShaAvanese  ;  but  Simon  and  James  had  previ- 
ously gone  back — the  former  to  the  homes  of  the  Mingoes, 
the  latter  to  the  ShaAvanese.  George  Avas  of  much  service  in 
getting  the  prisoners  along,  Avho  numbered  in  all  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty.  Bird  reached  Detroit  on  the  4th  of  Au- 
gust.f  His  expedition  Avas  the  most  successful  against  Ken- 
tucky of  any  during  the  Avar ;  and  but  for  the  intractability 
of  his  Indian  allies,  that  Avhole  region  Avould  have  been  de- 
populated.J 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  appearance  of  the  savages 
upon  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  in  the  spring 
of  1780  Avas  as  early  as  the  middle  of  March.     These  marauds 

*  Bird  to  DePeyster,  .Inly  24,  and  BombHrdier  Williuni  Iloimin  to  Bird, 
Aui;ust  18,  1780.— MS.  Icttors,  Hiildimiind  Paimrs. 

t  Besides  tiie  various  jmblished  accuunts  of  the  expedition,  I  have  con- 
sulted the  foHowing  MS.  letters  of  1780  from  the  Haldimand  Pa])ers,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  two  already  cited:  McKee  to  Bird,  May  3d  ;  DePeyster  to 
Haldimand,  May  17th;  same  to  Sinclair,  May  18th;  Bird  to  DePejster, 
May  21st;  same  to  DePeyster,  June  3d;  McKee  to  same,  June  4th;  Bird 
to  same,  Juno  11th;  same  to  same,  .July  1ft;  McKee  to  same,  July  8th;  and 
DePeyster  to  Haldimand,  August  18th. 

X  lloosevelt  declares  that  "  Bird  was  not  one  of  the  few  men  fitted  to  com- 
mand such  a  force  as  that  which  followed  him;  and  contenting  himself  with 
the  slight  success  ho  had  won,  he  rapidly  retreated  to  Detroit,  over  the  same 
path  by  which  he  had  advanced."  But  that  author  wrote,  of  course,  without 
knowledge  of  Bird's  or  McKee's  Official  Report,  or  ho  would  not  speak  of 
the  commanding  officer,  "contenting  himself  with  the  slight  success  he  hud 
won."  Both  Bird  and  JIcKee  were  well  "fitted  to  command  such  h 
force" — no  two  in  the  West  were  better;  but  the  nature  of  Indians  is  not 
to  brook  control  in  war  for  ativ  lenjitli  of  time. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  121 

continued  Avith  frequency  throughout  the  summer  and  until 
the  coming  in  of  winter.  However,  on  at  least  one  occasion, 
the  Indians  Avere  severely  punished  for  their  audacity.* 

To  prevent,  if  possible,  another  visitation  of  the  savages  in 
force  into  the  Kentucky  settlements,  as  had  been  the  case  in 
Bird's  expedition,  which  resulted  in  the  taking  of  Ruddle's 
and  Martin's  Stations,  and  as  a  retaliatory  measure  for  the 
success  of  the  enemy  in  that  undertaking.  General  George 
Rogers  Clark,  making  all  haste  "  with  what  men  he  could  Avell 
spare, t  started  from  Fort  Jefferson  for  Louisville,  resolved  to 
lead  an  expedition  against  the  Shawanese  towns  on  the  waters 
of  the  Little  Miami  and  Mad  river,  in  what  are  now  Greene 
and  Clark  counties,  Ohi".  With  a  strong  force  and  one  field- 
piece  he  reached  Chillicothe  on  the  6tli  of  August  only  to  find 
it  burning  and  the  savages  gone.  On  the  seventh,  having  de- 
stroyed all  the  corn  in  the  vicinity,  the  march  was  rencAved 
for  Piqua  upon  the  Mad  river.  This  Avas  reached  on  the 
eighth  and  the  village  at  once  attacked.  James  ami  George 
Girty  Avere  there  and  took  part  in  the  defense.  All  but  about 
seventy,  if  McKee  is  to  be  believed,  of  the  Indians  immediately 
fled ;  the  residue  Avith  the  tAvo  Girtys  stood  their  ground  man- 
fully, but  Avere  finally  compelled  to  leave  the  village  to  the  en- 
emy.J  After  destroying  all  the  corn,  Clark,  on  the  tenth,  began 
his  return  march.  Not  less  than  six  of  the  Indians  As-erc  killed, 
but  the  Avhites  lost  seventeen.  A  number  of  Clark's  men 
were  wounded,  but  only  three  of  the  savages.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  corn  proved  a  very  serious  bloAV  to  the  Indians, 
and  gave  ease  to  Kentucky  for  a  number  of  months  fol- 
loAving. 

In  nearly  all  the  printed  statements  heretofore  given  to 
the   public,  not   only  is    Simon  Girty  represented  as   being 

•  Washington-Irvino  Correspondence,  pp.  47-50. 

t  Roosevelt  gives  credit  to  the  oft-published  Action  of  Clark  having  with 
him  but  two  men.  Ho  bad,  in  all  probability,  two  hundred.  That  writer 
also  reprints  the  silly  tale  about  Clark  dressing  himself  as  an  Indian,  "  so  as 
to  deceive  the  lurking  bands  of  savages  "  while  on  the  journey. 

X  Captain  McKee  to  DePeyster,  from  the  Upper  Shawanese  Village 
(Wapatomica),  August  27,  1780. — MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 


122  History  of  the  Girty%. 

present  at  the  battle,  but  as  having  command  of  a  large  force 
of  Mingoes,  who  ingloriously  iled  the  town.  The  usual  ac- 
count is  to  the  effect  that  "  the  action  was  so  severe  a  short 
time  before  the  close,  that  Girty  .  .  .  drew  off  three 
hundred  of  his  men  [Mingoes],  declaring  to  them  it  was  folly 
in  the  extreme  to  continue  the  action  against  men  who  acted 
so  much  like  madmen  as  General  Clark's,  for  they  rushed 
in  the  extreme  of  danger,  with  a  seeming  di!?reg;u'd  of  conse- 
quences. This  opinion  of  Girty,  and  the  withdrawal  of  the 
three  hundi'ed  Mingoes,  so  disconcerted  the  rest,  that  the 
the  Avhole  body  soon  dispersed." 

But  there  were  no  Mingoes  in  Piqua  when  the  town  was  at- 
tacked by  Clark,  neither  was  Simon  Girty  there.* 

The  conduct  of  James  and  George — his  brothers — was 
highly  commended  by  the  savages  in  their  accounts  subse- 
quently given  of  the  battle. 

Notwithstanding  the  destruction  of  the  Indian  towns  by 
Clark,  the  Shawanese  did  not  forsake  their  country.  With 
them  remained  James  and  George  Girty ;  Avhile  Simon,  who, 
since  Bird's  campaign  into  Kentucky,  had  been  inactive,  con- 
tinued with  the  Mingoes.  The  three  occupied  themselves  in 
the  Ohio  wilderness  throughout  the  following  winter,  attend- 
ing to  the  behests  of  DePeyster  and  looking  after  the  inter- 
ests of  the  tribes  with  whom  they  were  particularly  associated. 

Note. — In  a  foot-note  by  Lyman  C.  Draper,  added  to  Charles 
I.  Walker's  Address  before  the  State  Historical  Society  of 
Wisconsin,  January  31,1871,  on  "  The  North-west  During  the 
Revolution,"  is  the  following  with  regard  to  Bird's  expedition 
(the  italicizing  is  by  the  writer  of  this  narrative) : 

"  This  memorable  expedition  Avas  originally  designed  to 
strike  at  Col.  Clark  and  his  garrison  at  Louisville  ;  but  the 
streams  were  unusually  full  that  season,  lohich  circumstance 

*  Roosevelt  says,  that  "both  Simon  Oirty  and  his  brother  were  in  the 
town."  Ho  reaches  this  conclusion,  evidently,  from  the  circumstHnce  that 
McKee  ispeaks  of  "the  two  Girtys."  Ho  did  not  know,  as  before  intimated, 
that  there  were  three  Girtys  (brothers)  in  the  Ohio  wilderness. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  123 

induced  Bird  to  change  his  original  purpose  of  attackhig  Louis- 
ville first;  and  therefore,  decided  to  ascend  Licking  river,  into 
the  heart  of  the  Kentucky  settlements,  conveying  his  artillery 
by  water  to  Ruddell's  and  Martin's  Stations,  and  thence  by 
land  to  Bryan's  Station  and  Lexington." 

But  the  Official  Report  of  the  commander  of  the  expedition 
clearly  shows  that  it  was  the  determination  of  the  Indian 
chiefs,  not  high  water,  that  "  induced  Bird  to  change  his 
original  purpose." 


t 


124  History  of  the  Oirtys. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  beginning  of  1781  found  Thomas  Girty  still  a  resident 
of  Pittsburgh.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  one  Myndcrt 
Fisher,  a  soldier,  forged  his  name  to  a  letter  directed  to  a 
loyalist,  then  in  the  Indian  country.  Fisher,  for  some  cause, 
had  become  disaffected,  and  had  opened  a  correspondence  with 
the  enemy.  Being  detected,  he  confessed  that  he  had  made 
use  of  Girty's  name.  He  was  tried  by  court-martial  at  Fort 
Pitt,  on  the  7th  of  January,  and  sentenced  to  death,  but  was 
subsequently  pardoned.* 

From  the  time  that  Brodhead  had  taken  command  at  Fort 
Pitt,  he  had  made  the  most  strenuous  endeavors  to  preserve 
friendly  relations  with  the  Delawares,  Avho,  ever  since  the  war 
began,  had  been  objects  of  suspicion  to  the  borderers.  It  was 
not  known,  of  course,  at  Avhat  moment  they  might  take  up 
the  hatchet,  in  which  event  their  proximity  to  the  settlements 
would  give  them  great  advantages  for  mischief.  Besides,  it 
was  well  understood  that  some  of  them  were  actually  hostile 
while  the  nation  at  large  was,  professedly,  the  ally  of  the 
United  States.  The  inability  of  the  government  to  carry 
out  treaty  stipulations,  and  the  influences  and  threats  of  the 
British  and  their  Indian  allies,  induced  them  finally,  though 
unwillingly,  to  rise  against  the  border,  only  a  small  band  re- 
maining in  the  interest  of  the  United  States.  Thus  the  In- 
dian war,  early  in  1781,  became  general — not  a  single  tribe  in 
the  Ohio  country  continuing  friendly. 

The  commander  of  the  Western  Department  was  early 
informed  of  the  defection  of  the  Delawares.  "  The  people 
at  Coshocton,"  wrote  Heckewelder,  from  one  of  the  Moravian 
villages  upon  the  Tuscarawas,  to  Brodhead,  on  the  26th  of 

*  As  to  the  trial,  sentence,  and  subsoquent  pardon  of  Fisher,  see  Wash- 
ington-Irvine Correspondence,  pp.  72,  82. 


History  of  the  Qirtys.  125 

February,  "  have  been  very  busy  in  trying  to  deceive  you  this 
long  time."  "  I  indeed  believe,"  he  continued,  "  that  the 
greater  part  of  them  will  be  upon  you  in  a  few  days."  "  They 
have  arranged  themselves  in  three  parties,"  he  added,  "  and, 
if  I  am  right,  one  party  is  gone  already ;  but  I  hope  they 
will  receive  what  tliey  deserve."  And  thus  Avrotc,  also,  a 
friendly  Delaware.  Indian  from  the  Moravian  towns:  "  Every 
body  here  knows  that  the  Coshocton  men  are  getting  ready  to 
go  and  fight  you."  Now,  the  leader' of  these  hostile  Delawares 
was  the  war-chief  Wingenund.  Brodhead,  acting  upon  the 
suggestion  of  the  patriotic  missionary,  determined,  thei'eupon, 
to  carry  the  war  to  the  homes  of  the  Coshocton  Indians. 

It  was  well  that  Brodhead  made  this  resolve ;  for  the  Del- 
awares were  now  determined  on  war,  and  were  earnestly  solic- 
iting the  British  commandant  at  Detroit  to  send  traders  among 
them,  declaring  that  they  would  no  longer  listen  to  "  the  Vir- 
ginians," who,  they  said,  had  deceived  them.*  The  artful  De- 
Peyster  encouraged  them,  sending  them,  on  the  l'2th  of  April, 
a  speech  by  Simon  Girty,  who  had  been  called,  previously,  to 
Detroit  from  the  Mingo  country,  by  the  commandcant : 

"  Indians  of  Coshocton !  I  have  received  your  speech  sent 
me  by  the  Half  King  of  Sandusky.  It  contains  three  strings, 
one  of  them  white,  and  the  other  two  checkered.  You  say 
that  you  want  traders  to  be  sent  to  your  village  and  that  you 
are  resolved  no  more  to  listen  to  the  Virginians,  who  have  de- 
ceived you.  It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  receive  you  again 
as  brothers,  both  for  your  own  good  and  for  the  friendship  I 
bear  to  the  Indians  in  general."  f 

Simon  Girty,  early  in  1781,  at  the  express  direction  of 
DePeyster,  took  up  his  residence  at  Upper  Sandusky,  among 
the  Wyandots,  sent  thither  from  the  Mingoes  because  his 
services  would  be  greatly  enhanced  by  the  change.  It  Avas 
the  beginning  of  a  long  intimacy  with  those  Indians,  but  he 
was  never  able  to  speak  their  language  with  as  much  fluency 
as  he  did  that  of  the  Senecas  (Mingoes).     His  oflicial  duties 

•  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  60,  61. 
f  DePeystor's  Miscellanies,  p.  253. 


126  History  of  the  Girtya. 

with  the  tribe  were  the  same  as  with  the  last-named  Indians ; 
that  is,  he  was  to  interpret  for  them,  and  go  to  war  with  them, 
when  occasions  offered.  He  was  at  all  times  to  do  the  bid- 
ding of  the  Detroit  commandant — "  attending,"  as  he  well 
expressed  it,  "  to  the  king's  business  " — and  his  pay  was  the 
same  as  formerly.  He  was  not  adopted  by  the  Sandusky 
Wyandots  as  one  of  their  people,  as  generally  supposed, 
although  highly  respected  by  them  ;  *  while  with  the  Detroit 
Wyandots,  ho  had  no  more  affiliation  than  with  other  Indians 
who  were  under  the  immediate  direction  of  DePeyster. 

From  Wapatomica,  early  in  March,  McKee  wrote  DePey- 
ster that  Simon  Girty,  with  a  party  of  Wyandots  ("  Hurons," 
he  calls  them)  and  Shawanese,  had  brought  in  three  prisoners 
to  that  place.  It  was  the  result  of  a  raid  into  Kentucky. 
How  many  scalps  weve  also  brought  in  is  not  mentioned.  So 
it  was  that  Girty  signalized  his  change  of  domicil  by  going 
upon  this  successful  maraud.  Kentucky  was  the  theater,  gen- 
erally, of  attacks  by  the  savages  earlier  in  the  season  than 
were  the  settlements  in  South-western  Pennsylvania  and 
(what  is  now)  West  Virginia;  and  this  for  obvious  reasons — 
the  climate  was  milder. 

Brodhead,  with  over  one  hundred  and   fifty  regulars   and 

*  Roosevelt,  in  speaking  of  Simon  Girty  (Tlie  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol. 
I,  p.  220,  oitina;  tlif  MiigHzine  of  Atnepican  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  266),  says: 
"  He  was  the  son  of  u  vicious  Irish  trader,  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians; 
he  WHS  adopted  by  the  latter,  and  grew  up  among  them,  and  his  daring  fe- 
rocity and  unscrupulous  cunning  early  made  him  one  of  their  leaders."  If 
the  idea  here  is,  that  Girty,  while  ho  was  held  captive  among  the  Senecas, 
became  one  of  their  leaders,  it  is  erroneous.  Or,  if  the  author  means  to  say 
that  Giriy's  "daring  ferocity  and  unscrupulous  cunning"  alone  made  him, 
during  the  Kevolution,  a  "  leader  "  of  the  Indians,  't  ;  also  a  mistake.  It 
was  not  only  the  characteristic  first  mentioned  (he  had  no  "  unscrupulous 
cunning")  that  gave  him  prestige  with  the  Jlingoes  and  Wyandots;  it  was 
(2)  his  being  sent  among  them  by  Hamilton  and  DePeyster;  and  (3)  for  the 
reason  that  he  spoke  their  'anguage.  And  even  then,  his  being  a  "  leader" 
must  be  taken  in  a  restricted  sense;  ho  was  only  such  oii  the  war-path 
with  parties  of  Indians,  when  th  j  latter  were  not  led  by  Rangers,  or  "  Indian 
officers."  His  voice  was  never,  during  that  war,  particularly  potent  in  their 
councils. 


Hhtary  of  the  Girlys.  127 

nearly  as  many  militia  (who  joined  him  at  Wheeling),  crossed 
the  Ohio  on  the  10th  of  April,  1781,  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Delawares  of  Coshocton.  The  colonel's  success  was  com- 
plete. He  returned  with  considerable  plunder,  after  killing 
fifteen  warrioi-s  and  taking  more  than  that  number  prisoners, 
four  of  whom,  Avith  the  women  and  children,  he  released. 

About  this  time,  and  while  Simon  Girty  was  at  Upper  San- 
dusky, a  prisoner,  Henry  Baker,  wat;  brought  in — a  boy 
eighteen  years  of  age — by  a  small  Avar-party.  He  was  capt- 
ured at  thr  narrows,  on  Wheeling  creek,  in  what  is  now  the 
State  of  West  Virginia.  Nine  prisoners  were  also  at  Upper 
Sandusky  besides  young  Baker.  These  were  from  Kentucky. 
They  were  all  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet.  The  boy,  being 
very  active,  ran  it  easily  and  without  receiving  a  blow.  This 
so  enraged  a  young  Indian  that  he  knocked  him  down  with  a 
club,  after  he  had  reached  the  council  house.  The  nine  Ken- 
tuckians  were  all  burned — one  a  day  until  all  had  miserably 
perished.  Baker  was  a  witness  to  these  frightful  scenes. 
Then  came  his  turn.  He  was  ordered  to  be  taken  out  by  an 
old  chief  and  tied  to  a  stake.  He  resisted  somewhat,  and 
tried  to  parley  with  the  savages ;  for,  on  starting,  he  espied  a 
white  man  on  horse-back  rapidly  approaching.  When  he 
came  up,  Baker  ran  up  to  him  and  implored  him  to  save  his 
life.  This  white  man  was  Simon  Girty.  The  latter  inquired 
who  he  was  and  Avhere  he  was  from,  and  at  once  interceded  in 
his  behalf.  His  efforts  were  crowned  with  complete  success ; 
for  the  savages  relented  and  let  him  go  free.  Girty  asked  him, 
aside,  a  great  many  questions  concerning  Wheeling  and  its 
vicinity,  which  induced  the  boy  to  believe  that  he  intended  soon 
to  make  him  a  guide  in  an  attack  on  that  place.  However,  in 
this  he  was  mistaken ;  for,  through  Girty's  importunities,  he 
was  sent  to  Detroit,  where  DePeyster  set  him  at  liberty. 
Hiring  himself  to  a  man  who  traded  with  the  Indians,  he 
afterward  escaped,  along  with  two  others,  and  all  three  reached 
their  homes  in  safety.* 

*  Newton's  History  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virginia,  p.  362. 


128  History  of  the  Girtys. 

"  \Vc  sent  to  Coshocton,"  wrote  Simon  Girty  after  the  de- 
struction of  that  place,  to  the  Detroit  commandant,  from  Up- 
per Sandusky,  "  twenty  of  our  men  [Wyandota]  some  time 
ago,  and  this  day  they  have  returned  with  the  following  news ;  " 

"  20th  April.  (Joloncl  lirodhead,  with  five  hundred  men, 
burned  the  town  and  killed  fifteen  men.  He  left  six  houses 
on  this  [west]  side  of  the  creek  that  he  did  not  see.  lie  like- 
wise took  the  women  and  children  prisoners,  and  afterward 
let  them  go.  He  let  four  men  [Dclawares]  go  that  w.;re  pris- 
oners who  showed  him  a  paper  that  they  had  from  Congress. 
Brodhead  told  them  that  it  was  none  of  his  fault  that  their 
people  [the  Delawares  slain]  were  killed,  but  the  fault  of  the 
militia  that  would  not  be  under  his  command.  lie  likewise 
told  them  that  in  seven  months  he  would  beat  all  the  Indians 
out  of  this  country.  In  six  days  from  this  date,  he  is  to  set 
off  for  this  place  [Upper  Sandusky]  with  one  thousand  men ; 
and  Colonel  Clark  is  gone  down  the  Ohio  river  with  one  thou- 
sand men. 

"  There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty  Wyandots  ready  to 
start  off  with  me,  until  this  news  came.  Your  children  [the 
Wyandots]  will  be  very  glad  if  you  will  f^end  those  people  you 
promised  to  send  to  their  assistance ;  likewise  send  the  In- 
dians that  are  about  you,  to  assist  us.  The  Christian 
["  Moravian  "]  Indians  have  applied  to  us  to  move  them  off 
before  the  rebels  come  to  their  town. 

"  I  have  one  hundred  and  sixty  Indians  at  this  place. 
Their  provisions  are  all  gone  ;  and  they  beg  that  you  will 
send  them  some. 

"  Mr.  Le  Villier,  when  he  heard  that  the  rebels  were  in  the 
Indian  country,  went  off  to  the  lower  town  [Lower  Sandusky], 
where  there  was  not  a  man  but  himself,  and  told  the  women 
and  children  that  the  rebels  were  close  by.  He  ran  off  in  the 
night  [from  Upper  Sandusky]  without  giving  notice  to  the 
[Wyandot]  chiefs  or  me.  He  minds  trading  more  than  the 
king's  business. 

"  I  will  be  much  obliged  to  you,  sir,  if  you  send  me  a  little 


Hixtory  of  (he  Oirtys.  129 

provisions  for  myself,  as  I  was  compelled  to  give  mine  to  the 
Indians."  * 

The  hostile  Dolihvares  now  entirely  forsook  the  valleys  of 
the  Q\i8carawas  and  Muskingum,  drawing  back  to  the  Scioto, 
Mad  river,  and  the  Siiiidusky.r  DePeyster  thou  addressed 
them  as  his  "  children."  :j; 

General  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  had  gone  from  Ken- 
tucky over  the  mountains  to  Virginia,  and  who  had  deter- 
mined on  an  expedition  against  Detroit,  reached  the  Ohio,  and 
began  tlu  descent  of  that  river  with  a  considerable  force 
about  the  end  of  July,  i^  Following  him  was  a  Pennsylvania 
body  of  soldiers,  composed  of  volunteers  and  a  company  of 
state  troops  (Rangers),  all  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Archibald  Lochry,  lieutenant  of  Westmoreland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Already  had  extraordinary  ciforts  been  made  to  hasten  to 
the  southward  what  Indians  could  be  collected  to  interpose  a 
barrier  to  the  advance  of  General  Clark.  These  were  under 
the  direction  of  Captain  McKee;  with  them  was  a  company 
of  one  hundred  Rangers  ("  Butler's  ")  commanded  by  Captain 
Andrew  Thompson.  Captain  Joseph  Brant  (Thayendanegea), 
a  noted  Indian  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  George  Girty,  with  a 
party  of  Indians,  "  advanced  upon  the  Ohio,"  capturing  one 
of  Clark's  boats.  They  soon  learned  that  Colonel  Lochry  was 
also  on  his  way  down  the  river,  aud  they  lay  in  wait  for  him. 
They  attacked  him  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  August,  about 
eleven  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  in  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Indiana.  Every  man  present  of  the  Ameri- 
cans— numbering  in  all  over  one  hundred — was  killed  or  cap- 

•  Qirty  to  DePeyster,  May  4,  1781.— MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 

t  "Washington-Irvine  Uorrespondenee,  p.  52. 

J  DePeyster  to  the  Delawares,  June  7,  1781,  in  "  Miscellanies  "  of  that 
officer,  pp.  263,  264. 

§  lloosevelt  makes  the  glaringly  erroneous  statement  that  Clark  "  passed 
and  repassed  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Falls  of  tl  "  Ohio  and  thence  to  the  Illi- 
nois  in  the  vain  effort  to  get  troops"  for  this  uxpedition. 

9 


180  Hhtory  of  the.  Oirti/n. 


ttired."''  The  fame  of  (leorge  Girty  was  considerahly  increaHotl 
by  this  success.  The  knowledge  lie  liad  gained  of  military 
affairs  iit  Captain  Williiig's  company  befor6  his  desertion  was 
not  lost  upon  him. 

('ai)tai)i  Brant  and  George  Girty,  after  defeating  Lochry, 
moved  tlieir  eonimand  up  the  (Jreat  Miami,  forming  a  junc- 
tion witli  the  Rangers  and  savages  under  (,'aptains  Thomp- 
son and  MeKce.  With  the  latter  from  Sandusky  had  marched 
Simon  Girty.  The  whole  force  of  the  enemy,  except  a  ser- 
geant and  cighteeii  men  left  to  take  care  of  prisoners  and 
stores,  proceeded,  August  28th,  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  to 
watch  the  movements  of  Clark,  who  was  at  Louisville. f 

While  the  enemy  were  thus  "waiting  and  watching,"  Simon 
Girty  had  an  exceedingly  narrow  escape  from  death.  His 
would-be  slayer  was  none  other  than  the  haughty  and  re- 
doubtable Captain  Brant.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  lat- 
ter, after  his  success  against  Lochry,  felt  elated — that  he 
boasted  in  his  cups  of  his  prowess  and  of  the  capturing  of  a 
number  of  the  enemy  by  his  own  hands.  Simon's  envy  was 
awakene(L  Bluntly  he  told  the  boastful  savage  that  he  lied. 
The  insult  was  instantly  resented.  Tliayendanegea  struck  Avith 
his  sword  the  head  of  the  white  man,  who  foil  desj)eratcly 
wounded  ;  but  he  lived,  and  finally  recovered;  carryir  g,  how- 
ever, a  deep  scar  upon  his  forehead  ever  after.     He  declared 


*  Wiishington-lrvine  Correspondence,  pp.  5;"),  5*J,  'J2'.>.  'JliO,  and  the  hii- 
thoriti'js  there  cited.  But  none  of  these  lU'counts  hiive  the  ijiven  nntiio  of 
Cnptain  'rhonipsoii.  This  I  have  obtained  elsowlieri'.  "Gcnrue  (liity,  tlie 
only  one  of  the  Girty  brothers  who,  contrary  to  the  pojiuiar  impression, 
ever  actually  deserted  from  the  American  army,  waK  iluly  heard  from  in 
the  summer  of  1781.  General  Irvine,  then  in  command  of  Kort  I'itt,  records 
the  fact  that  a  band  of  Indians  under  this  loyal  savage  and  the  noted 
Brandt  attacked  on  the  24th  of  August  and  below  the  mouth  of  tlie  Great 
Miami  a  force  of  volunteers  on  their  way  to  join  Clarke,  and  killed  or  cap- 
tured every  i  n  in  the  expedition." — .Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV,  p.  2C3.  It  General  Irvine  did  not  make  this  record  about  George 
Girty,  as  here  stated,  but  such  a  record  was  made  by  the  writer  of  this  nar- 
rative in  the  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  56,  230,  drawn  from 
other  sources  than  those  of  the  Irvine  letters. 

f  See  McBride's  Pioneer  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  280. 


UiHiorif  of  fhc  dirh/K.  181 


subsequently  tlmt  lio  had  received  the  saher-cut  in  battle  and 
had  killed  his  assailant;*  it  beinj;  hix  turn  now  to  boast!  It 
was  a  number  of  weeks  before  ho  could  sit  up ;  nevertheless, 
his  recovery,  considering  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  wound, 
was  surprisingly  rapid.  It  had  no  sooner  healed  so  as  to  ad- 
mit of  his  n\oving  about  than  he  started  north,  first  reaching 
the  MingocH,  and  tiien  going  to  Upper  Samlusky,  where  he  re- 
mained during  the  winter.  By  the  middle  of  January,  1782, 
ho  had  fully  recovered ;  that  is  to  say,  ho  was  well  and  hearty 
though  the  wound  ever  after  gave  him  trouble,  it  having  at 
times,  some  effect  upon  his  mental  condition. t 

The  rejoicing  of  the  savages  over  Lochry's  defeat  was  great. 
They  believed  that  all  danger  of  invasion  by  Clark  was  now 
over,  and  it  re(iuired  much  persuasion  on  part  of  Thompson, 
McKee,  and  Urant  to  induce  them  to  march  further  toward  the 
Falls  (Louisville).  On  the  !Hh  of  September,  when  within 
thirty  miles  of  that  jjlace,  they  learned  that  Clark  had  aban- 
doned his  expedition,  and  they  immediately  began  to  disband. 
However,  two  hundred  Wvandots  and  Miamis  under  McKee 

'  %■' 

and  Brant,  moved  southward  into  Kentucky  "  to  attack  some 
of  the  small  forts  and  infest  the  roads,"  while  the  Rangers 
and  the  residue  of  the  Indians  returned  to  the  northward. 
McKcc  and  Brant's  party  (with  which  was  George  Girty) 
succeeded  in  killing  a  number  of  men,  women,  and  children  at 
Long  Run ;  after  which,  these  warriors,  too,  returned  to  their 
homes.     Thompson  reached  Detroit  early  in  October. ;[: 


"  Iiidiati  Cuplivity:  A  Trvui  Niirrative  ot'  tins  CiiptuiH  ot  Rev.  O.  M. 
S|>i'iii'cr,  l)^  tins  linliiins,  in  tlif  Neighborhood  of  (Jiiifiimiili.  WrittPii  by 
IliniM:'it'.  |i.  811.  ■'  I  WHS,"  says  Sjienour,  '-at'lt'i-waid  told  [tli«  wound]  was 
inflicti'd  i>y  the  tomahawk  'if  thu  culebrated  Indian  ohiL-f,  Urandt  [Mrant],  in 
a  drunken  fndie."  History  and  tradition  abundantly  corroborate  this,  ex- 
cept as  to  ihu  instrument  eniployed.  For  niention  of  tlie  (juarrel  (but  {jiving 
t,n  erroneous  statement  as  to  its  result),  see  Albach's  Western  Annals,  p. 
SS4.     Compare,  also,  Howe's  Ohio,  p.  248. 

t  Concerning  the  affair  between  8imon  Girty  and  Brant,  many  traditions 
have  been  preserved,  all  of  a  character  more  or  less  exaggerated,  while  some 
are  wholly  fictitious.  'J'liat  Hrant  regretted  the  act  after  he  became  sober, 
is  probable. 

t  P'or  particulars  of  this  inroad,  see  the  current    histories  of  the  West. 


132  History  of  the  Girfys. 

A  party  of  Indians  (not  any,  however,  of  those  who  had 
previously  started  south  under  McKee)  numbering  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  consisting  of  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Mun- 
ceys,  and  a  small  number  of  ShaAvanese,  also  a  few  tories  and 
French  Canadian  partisans,  the  whole  headed  by  Captain 
Matthew  Elliott  (for  that  loyalist  was  now  an  "Indian 
officer  "  of  that  rank),  marched  from  the  Sandusky  eastward 
until  the  Tuscarawas  was  reached  at  the  "  Moravian  "  Indian 
towns.  This  was  the  latter  part  of  August.  A  portion,  after- 
ward, moved  on  toward  the  border,  appearing,  finally,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Henry  (Wheeling).  There  were  three  boys 
outside  the  fort ;  one  was  killed,  one  made  prisoner,  and 
the  other  escaped  inside  the  fortification.  In  a  moment  the 
garrison  (information  having  been  sent  from  Pittsburgh  to  the 
post  of  the  danger  threatened)  was  ready  to  receive  the  sav- 
ages. The  latter  seeing  the  borderers  fully  prepared  for  them, 
soon  disappeared,  doing  but  little  mischief,  except  killing  all  the 
cattle  they  could  find.  Their  depredations  up  Wheeling  and 
Bufialo  creeks,  however,  were,  before  they  re-crossed  the 
Ohio,  much  more  serious.  They  killed  and  captured  several 
persons. 

Much  fiction  has  found  its  way  into  print  concerning  this 
attempt  of  the  enemy  against  the  fort  at  Wheeling.  "  Both 
the  date  and  the  facts  of  the  second  demonstration  against 
Fort  Henry,"  says  a  published  account,  already  a  number  of 
times  cited,  "  which  occurred  earlj'  in  September,  1781,  have 
been  badly  mixed  by  different  writers ,  but  it  is  quite  evident 
that  the  Girtys  participated  in  the  siege."  *  It  is  now  known, 
however,  that  neither  of  the  three  Girty  brothers — Simon, 
James,  or  George — took  part  in  this  expedition  ;  nor  was  the 
stockade  sufficiently  invested  by  the  savages  to  justify  the 
movement  being  designated  a  siege.     Fort  Henry  was  twice 

Additional  facts  recently  publisliud  may  bt)  t'uund  in  the  The  Winning  of 
the  West,  Vol.  II,  pp.  128-130;  and  the  authori'uiiss  there  cited  may  be  con- 
sulted with  advantage.     See,  too,  McBride's  Pion.  Biog.,  Vol.  I,  p.  280. 
*  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  2G3. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  133 

besieged  and  only  twice ;  cnce  in  1777  as  already  mentioned, 
and  again  in  1782  as  will  hereafter  be  shown.* 

The  enemy,  before  leaving  the  Tuscarawas  on  their  return 
home,  broke  up  the  missionary  establishments  upon  that  river, 
taking  the  missionaries  and  their  families,  and  all  the  "  Mo- 
ravian "  Indians,  with  them  to  the  Sandusky,  where,  at  a  point 
a  little  over  two  miles  above  the  present  Upper  Sandusky, 
county  seat  of  Wyandot  county,  Ohio,  but,  on  the  opposite 
(east)  side  of  the  river,  they  (the  Moravians  and  their  Indians) 
prepared  to  spend  the  winter.  The  Girtys,  it  must  be  un- 
derstood, did  not  help  plan  the  expedition,  nor  did  they  take 
any  part  in  it.f  Zcisberger  giving  information  to  the  Ameri- 
cans was  the  cause  of  the  enemy's  action. 

While  the  savages  were  on  their  way  back  to  Sandusky, 
seven  of  the  Wyandots,  of  whom  three  were  sons  of  the  Half 
King,  left  the  main  party  and  again  marched  for  the  border, 
raiding  into  a  small  settlement  on  Harman's  creek,  in  Wash- 
ington county,  taking  one  prisoner — a  man  about  sixty  years 
of  age.  The  savages  immediately  started  on  their  return, 
but  were  soon  pursued  by  a  number  of  settlers,  to  the  Ohio 
river,  where  they  were  overtaken  and  all  killed  except  one  ; 
and  he,  their  leader,  Scotosh  by  name,  one  of  the  three  broth- 
ers before  alluded  to,  escaped  wounded.  The  white  prisoner 
was  released.  Andrew  Poe,  one  of  the  pursuers,  his  gun 
missing  fire,  boldly  sprang  upon  and  grappled  two  of  the  In- 
dians— sons  of  the  Half  King.  During  a  most  violent  strug- 
gle, which  was  continued  first  on  shore  and  then  in  the  river, 


*  "  It  is  absolutelj'  impossible  to  find  out  the  r;  il  tHcfs  conoerning  the 
sieges  of  Wheeling;  it  is  not  quite  certain  even  whether  there  were  two  or 
three." — Uoosevelt.  There  is,  however,  it  is  suggested,  no  difficulty  in  find- 
ing out  all  the  iinportant  facts  concerning  them,  or  in  discovering  that  there 
were  but  two. 

t  In  a  previous  work  (An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against 
8andusl{y,  p.  190),  the  writer  of  this  narrative  says:  "[Simon]  Girty  was 
one  of  the  plotters  of  the  scheme  which  resulted  in  the  breaking  up  of  the 
missionary  establishments  upop  the  Muskingum  [i.  e.,  upon  the  Tuscarawas, 
as  afterwards  known]."  But^flirthcr  investigation  makes  it  certain  tliat  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  directly  or  indirectly;  neither  had  his  brother 
James  or  George. 


184  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

Andrew  killed  one  of  the  Indians,  but  was  himself  badly 
wounded.  Adam  Poe,  a  brother,  coming  to  his  relief,  shot 
the  other  savage.  Meanwhile,  Andrew  then  in  the  water,  by 
mistake,  received  a  second  wound  from  one  of  his  own  men. 
The  settlers  lost  one  of  their  number.  Neither  of  the  Indians 
killed  by  the  Poes  was  named  Big  Foot,  nor  was  either  of 
them  of  unusual  size,  as  has  been  so  long  and  persistently 
claimed  by  Western  writers.* 

Note  I. — It  will  not  be  forgotten  that,  in  the  first  place, 
Simon  Girty  was  sent  Ity  Hamilton  to  dwell  among  the  Min- 
goes  ;  and  that  too,  for  specific  purposes.  It  has,  however, 
been  published  that  he  first  "  allied  himself  with  the  Wyan- 
dots,  '  the  bravest  of  the  tribes,'  with  whom  he  was  more  or 
less  identified  until  the  day  of  his  death.  They  had  known 
him  ever  since  his  childhood,  and  they  received  him  now  as 
an  adopted  Indian." — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV,  p.  -61.  (Compare,  also,  An  Historical  Account  of  the 
Expedition  against  Sandusky,  under  Col.  William  Crawford, 
in  1782,"  p.  187.)  But  Girty's  residence  upon  the  San- 
dusky did  not  take  place,  as  before  narrated,  for  nearly  three 
years  from  the  time  of  his  joining  the  British,  and  then,  at 
the  instigation  of  DePeyster.  He  had  seen  little  of  the  San- 
dusky Wyandots  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Avar,  except 
at  Pittsburgh;  the  Detroit  Wyandots  he  had  never  visited; 
nor  Avas  he  received  by  the  former  as  an  adopted  Indian. 

Note  II. — "  Simon  Girty  (spelled  Girtee  in  the  old  rec- 
ords) was  born  and  raised  in  the  Cumberland  valley,  Pennsyl- 
vania," declares  a  modern  Pennsylvania  author.  "  His  par- 
ents were  Swiss-Germans,  and  were  much  addicted  to  the  use 
of  strong  drink  and  gambling,  both  of  which  became  charac- 
teristics of  Simon.  It  was,  doubtless,  oAving  to  the  fact  that 
Simon  Girty's  parents  taught  him  by  example  these  bad  hab- 
its, and  left  him  no  legacy  but  one  of  dishonor,  that  he  for- 


*  Washington-Irvine  Correspondonee,  p.  61,  where  the  niiinu  of  the  leader 
of  the  Indians  is  incorrectly  spelled  "Seotash." 


History  of  the  Girti/s.  135 


sook  the  settlements  to  serve  with  young  Simon  Kenton  on 
the  frontiers.  lie  joined  the  Virginia  militia,  and  seemed 
anxious  to  distinguish  himself  as  a  soldier.  He  was  disap- 
pointed at  being  promoted,  and  instead,  through  the  influence 
of  his  colonel,  publicly  disgraced.  He  fled  from  the  ^-ettle- 
ments  and  took  up  his  abode  along  with  a  number  of  others 
on  Sherman's  creek,  but  here  he  was  again  followed  by  the 
whites,  who  burnt  his  cabin  in  1750,  and  turned  him  loose  to 
roam  the  wilds  as  an  outcast  under  the  ban  of  the  law.  He 
took  up  his  abode  with  the  Wyandotte  Indians,  with  whom  he 
lived  a  foe  to  the  whites,  more  cruel  and  relentless  than  his  * 
adopted  people." — Wright's  History  of  Perry  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, pp.  33,  34.  In  all  that  has  come  under  my  notice 
concerning  Simon  Girty,  I  have  found  no  such  confusion  of 
dates  and  statements  as  this. 

Note  III. — Most  writers  on  Western  history  give  the  name 
of  the  unfortunate  colonel  killed  while  going  down  the  Ohio 
on  his  way  to  join  Clark,  as  "  Loughry  "  or  "  Loughrie,"  but 
the  proper  spelling  is  "Lochry."  Before  Brant's  return  to 
Detroit,  he  (Brant)  was  wounded  in  the  leg  (Powell  to  Haldi- 
mand,  October  20th  ;  and  same  to  same,  December  6,  1781. — 
MS.  letters,  Haldimand  Papers).  This  fact  and  the  previous 
quarrel  between  him  and  Simon  Girty  have  led  to  the  erro- 
neous tradition,  which  is  current,  that  Girty  wounded  Brant. 

Note  IV. — The  story  of  the  Poe  fight  was  first  written  for, 
and  printed  in,  a  magazine,  with  a  number  of  fanciful  embel- 
lishments, about  "  Big  Foot,"  etc.  The  whole  article  was 
copied  by  Doddridge  as  veritable  history  in  his  notes.  It  has 
since  been  re-copied  numberless  times  and  with  many  vari- 
ations. I  have  given  simply  the  facts,  with  the  imaginary 
portions  omitted. 


136  History  of  the  Girtys. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  year  1782  was  one  of  great  activity  in  the  West.  In 
no  year  during  the  war  were  there  enacted  so  many  stirring 
events.  Simon  Girty  acted  his  part  in  the  drama,  but  it  was 
not  one  so  prominent  upon  the  wilderness  stage  as  history  has 
been  disposed  to  assign  him.  He  appeared  in  many  "  char- 
acters ;"  and  just  at  this  point,  where  we  get  a  close  view  of 
him,  we  find  how  perverse  and  cruel  he  had  become.  E'i- 
dently,  to  a  great  extent,  had  his  sorrow  for  hasty  action  in 
leaving  his  country,  which  would  occasionally  possess  his 
mind,  worn  oif.  More  and  more  was  he  growing  attached  to 
the  cause  he  had  espoused.  Being  naturally  of  an  impulsive 
turn,  the  dictates  of  humanity  would  occasionally  get  the  bet- 
ter of  his  pernicious  feeling  against  his  countrymen,  prompt- 
ing him  to  save  the  life  of  a  fellow-being  from  the  awful  tor- 
tures of  the  savages ;  but  increasing  in  frequency  was  his 
giving  loose  rein  to  the  ferocity  of  his  nature.  He  was,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  winter,  a  constant  companion  of 
Dunquat,  the  Half  King  of  the  Wyandots.  Heckewelder  saw 
much  of  him  at  this  time.  In  speaking  of  the  suflFering  of 
the  missionaries  and  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians,  who,  it  will  be 
remembered,  were  left  upon  the  Sandusky,  at  the  coming  in 
of  winter,  he  says :  "  Towards  the  end  of  January  [1782],  the 
cold  during  the  nights  became  almost  insupportable ;  the  more 
so,  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  our  huts,  not  permitting 
the  convenience  of  our  having  large  fires  made  within  them, 
and  even  wood  being  scarce  where  we  were.  Our  houses 
having  no  flooring,  whenever  a  thaw  came  on,  the  water,  forc- 
ing passages  through  the  earth,  entered  in  such  quantities 
that  wc  scarcely  could  keep  our  feet  dry.  The  cattle  finding 
no  pasture  in  these  dreary  regions,  and  we  not  being  able  to 
procure  any  for  them,  now  began  to  perish  by  hunger,  and, 
as  provision   for  so   many  people  could   not  be  had  even  for 


History  of  the  Girtys.  137 


money,  famine  took  place,  and  the  calamity  became  general; 
many  had  now  no  othei'  alternative  but  to  live  on  the  carcases 
of  the  starved  cattle,  and  in  a  few  instances  suckling  babes 
perished  for  want  of  nourishment  from  the  mothers'  impover- 
ished breasts. 

"The  missionaries  had,  at  this  time,  reduced  theii-  daily 
allowance  of  provision  for  bread  to  a  pint  of  Indiar  jorn,  per 
man,  a  day.  Now  and  then  Mr.  McCormick  sent  them  a 
leg  of  venison  purchased  of  the  hunters.  Yet,  in  this  wretched 
situation,  the  hungry  Wyandots  would  often  come  in  our  huts 
to  see  if  there  was  any  victuals  cooking,  or  ready  cooked. 
At  one  time,  just  as  my  wife  had  set  down  to  what  Avas  in- 
tended for  our  dinner,  the  Half  King,  Simon  Girty,  and 
another,  a  Wyandot,  entered  my  cabin,  and  seeing  the  victuals 
ready,  without  ceremony,  began  eating."  * 

The  Half  King  at  Sandusky,  as  may  be  supposed,  lost 
none  of  his  animosity  against  the  Americans  because  of  the 
killing  of  two  of  his  sons  (by  the  Poes,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered) in  the  previous  fall,  while  on  a  marauding  expedition 
across  the  Ohio.  And  that  his  enmity  should  be  kindled 
against  the  Moravian  missionaries,  Avho  were  upon  the  San- 
dusky, was  very  natural,  for  he  very  well  knew  what  their 
sympathy  had  been  for  the  Americans.  That  Simon  Girty 
should  have  been  his  willing  instrument  to  aid  him  in  getting 
these  men  out  of  the  country,  is  not  at  all  a  matter  of 
wonder. 

"  Girty  (or  '  Captain  Girty,'  as  he  called  himself),"  says 
Heckewelder,  "  an  outcast  among  mankind — dwelling  among 
the  Wyandots,  and  frequently  going  with  them  to  wai-  against 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  would  instigate  the  former 
[that  is,  the  Wyandots]  to  do  us  all  the  mischief  they  could ; 
and  was  a  principal  in  raising  their  suspicion  against  us. 
This  man  (as  we  were  informed  from  good  authority)  came  one 
day  about  that  time  [February,  1782]  to  Mr.  McCormick,  and 
requested  him  to  write  a  letter  for  the  Half  King,  the  purport 

•  Heckewelder  Narrative,  pp.  299,  800.  ~'~  ":""*'        ^ 


138  History  of  the  Girtys. 

of  which  was  :  '  that  the  missionaries  at  Sandusky  kept  up  a 
continual  correspondence  with  the  Americans ;  and  received 
regularly,  every  ten  days,  letters  from  Pittsburg ;  and  that 
they  were  endeavoring  to  persuade  the  Virginians  to  destroy 
the  Wyandot  nation,  etc'  That  <rentlenian,  hoAvever,  inquir- 
ing of  him  as  to  the  truth  of  which  he  wanted  written,  and 
being  answered,  '  that  it  made  no  difference  to  him  [McCor- 
mick]  whether  it  Avas  true  or  not :'  and  he  peremptorily  de- 
clined writing  falsehoods  for  him  ;  however,  reports  stated, 
that  he  had  got  the  letter  written  by  some  other  person.  A 
letter  was,  shortly  after  this,  written  for  the  Half  King  to  the 
commandant  [Major  DePcyster,  at  Detroit],  stating  '  that  he, 
(the  Half  King)  would  be  uneasy  in  his  mind,  as  long  as  the 
teachers  [Moravians]  remained  at  Sandusky,  he  fearing  some 
misfortune,  and  therefore  requested  the  commandant  to  take 
them  away  as  soon  as  possible ;  but  that,  if  he  refused,  he 
himself  would  know  what  to  do!' 

"  This  last  letter  had  the  desired  effect,  the  commandant 
[DePcyster]  well  understanding,  what  was  meant  to  be  done 
to  us,  in  case  we  were  not  removed :  he  sent  an  answer  to  the 
Half  King  to  that  purpose,  we  however  were  entirely  ignorant, 
of  Avhat  was  intended,  until  on  the  first  day  of  March,  a  mes- 
senger, sent  by  the  Half  King  and  Simon  Girty  arrived, 
who  by  their  order  cited  all  the  teachers  '  to  appear  before 
them  to-morrow  morning  at  the  house  of  McCormick,  there  to 
hear  a  letter  read  written  by  the  commandant  at  Detroit  to 
the  Half  King  and  "  Captain  Girty  "  respecting  us.' 

"  We  considered  it  unnecessary  for  all  of  us  to  go  so  great 
a  distance,  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  contents  of  a  letter  ; 
David  Zeisberger,  and  the  writer  of  this,  concluded  to  go  by 
themselves,  and  accordingly  we  set  off  on  foot  early  on  the 
next  morning,  and  having  waded  the  eight  miles  through  the 
snow,  found  the  Half  King  and  Simon  Girty  there  [about  five 
miles  below  the  present  Upper  Sandusky,  county  seat  of 
Wyandot  county,  Ohio],  waiting  for  us.  The  latter  jeeing 
but  two  of  us  arrive,  impudently  insulted  us,  for  having  dis- 
obeyed their  orders,  to  which  we  calmly,  and  in  a  civil  manner 


History  of  the  Girtys.  139 

replied.  After  which,  Girty  liaving  mounted  on  a  kind  of 
sta<];e,  about  six  feet  in  height,  he  took  an  open  letter  in  one 
hand  and  a  black  string  of  wampum  beads  in  the  other,  and 
addressed  us  with  an  air  of  contempt  in  these  words :  '  Gen- 
tlemen !  At  length  you  have  brought  upon  yourselves  what 
you  have  so  long  deserved,  by  means  of  your  attachment  to 
the  rebels  !  Your  deeds  are  no  more  hidden  !  tliey  are  known 
to  the  comTnandant  at  Detroit!  hear  this  letter  read,  which  ia 
sent  to  the  Half  King !  I  will  read  it  to  you ;  No !  take  it 
and  read  it  yourselves — and  look  at  this  !  (holding  up  the 
string  of  wampum)  look  well  I  do  you  see  that  it  is  black? 
The  cause  of  its  being  a  black  string  instead  of  a  white  one, 
you  already  know,  so  that  I  need  not  tell  you ;  mind !  it  is 
sent  with  the  letter  I' 

"  The  contents  of  the  letter  alluded  to  were  to  this  effect : 
'  That  in  consequence  of  the  Half  King's  request,  the  com- 
mandant [DePeyster]  had  determined  to  remove  the  teachers 
[missionaries]  from  among  the  Christian  ["  Moravian "]  In- 
dians— and  he  hereby  did  appoint  "  Captain  Girty  "  to  bring 
them  to  Detroit.  That,  in  case  Girty  should  be  otherwise  en- 
gaged, he  should  appoint  another  fit  person  to  bring  the 
teachers  on.  That  should  Girty,  or  any  other  person  bring- 
ing thera  in,  want  assistance,  the  Half  King  should  help 
him ! ' 

"  On  those  words,  where  the  Half  King  Avas  called  on  to 
render  him  assistance,  if  required,  Girty  laid  a  particular 
stress — meaning  Y.hcreby,  to  threaten  us  if  we  refused  to  go, 
and  saying  (with  a  loud  laugh),  '  Gentlemen  !  take  notice  !  the 
Half  King  is  to  help  me  ! ' 

"We  saw  nothing  in  this  message  that  tended  to  frighten 
us.  That  the  wampum  beads  sent  with  the  speech  of  the  com- 
mandant, were  black,  did  not  surprise  us  in  the  least — Bor 
was  any  thing  bad  meant  against  us,  by  asking  the  assistance 
of  the  Half  King  in  bringing  us  to  Detroit,  if  Girty  stood  in 
need  of  it ;  for  the  commandant  had  closed  his  letter,  or  speech 
to  *^hem,  with  a  special  charge,  '  not  to  plunder  us,  nor  other- 


140  History  of  (he  Qirtyis. 

wise  abuse  us;  neither  to  suffer  us  to  be  plundered  or  abused 
by  any  person  whatsoever.' " 

"On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  March,"  continues  Hecke- 
welder,  "  a  Frenchmaft  named  Francis  Levallie  [Le  Villier], 
from  Lower  Sandusky,  gave  us  notice  that  Girty,  who  was  to 
have  taken  us  to  Detroit,  having  gone  with  a  party  of  Wyan- 
dots  to  war  against  the  Americans  on  the  Ohio,  had  appointed 
him  to  take  his  phice  in  taking  us  to  Detroit,  and  that  on  the 
next  day  after  to-morrow  (the  15th)  he  [Le  Villier]  would  be 
here  again  to  set  out  with  us.  A  little  conversation  with  this 
man  satisfied  us  that  we  had  fallen  into  better  hands.  He 
told  us  '  that  Girty  had  ordered  him  to  drive  us  before  him  to 
Detroit,  the  same  as  if  we  were  cattle,  and  never  make  a  halt 
for  the  purpose  of  the  women  giving  suck  to  their  children. 
That  he  should  take  us  round  the  head  of  the  lake  (Erie)  and 
make  us  foot  every  step  of  the  way  ' — that  he,  however,  would 
not  do  this,  but  would  take  us  to  Lower  Sandusky,  and  from 
that  place  send  a  runner  with  a  letter  to  the  commandant  at 
Detroit,  representing  our  situation,  and  taking  further  orders 
from  him  respecting  us."  * 

Leaving  the  missionaries  preparing  to  obey  the  orders  of 
DePeyster,  at  Detroit,  by  getting  ready  for  the  journey  to 
Lower  Sandusky  as  suggested  by  the  loquacious  Frenchman 
who  was  to  take  charge  of  them,  let  us  follow  Simon  Girty  in 
his  raid  with  his  war-party  of  Wyandots  to  the  Ohio.  He 
left  Upper  Sandusky,  on  the  17th  of  March,  under  instructions 
from  the  Detroit  commandant,  to  see  certain  disaffected  per- 
sons on  the  border  if  possible.  He  had  with  him  Scotosh, 
the  Half  King's  son,  and  eight  other  Wyandots.  Before 
reaching  the  Ohio,  his  force  was  joined  by  other  Wyandots 
under  the  lead  of  the  war  chief,  Abraham  Kuhn  ;  so  that  the 
party  then  numbered  thirty.  Girty  soon  saw  from  the  report 
of  an  Indian  he  had  sent  ahead  that  it  would  be  too  danger- 
ous to  undertake  the  real  object  of  his  journey,  the  Virginians 
having  scouts  so  thick  in  that  quarter.  He  determined  at 
once,  upon  getting  this  information,  to  see  what  he  could  do 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  303-306,  308,  309.    — 


History  of  the  Girtya.  141 


in  the  way  of  taking  some  scalps  or  prisoners,  or  perhaps 
both.''^  The  force  divided — one  party  crossing  that  river  at 
Mingo  Bottom,  a  short  distance  below  what  is  now  Steuben- 
villc,  Ohio;  another  numbering  fourteen,  with  Abraham  Kuhn, 
proceeding  to  Fort  Mcintosh,  in  hopes  of  ambuscading  some 
of  the  soldiers  of  that  post.  With  those  who  crossed  the 
Ohio,  went  Girty. 

Girty's  party  again  divided,  ten  of  the  warriors  going  some 
distance  up  the  Ohio,  Avhile  he  and  the  residue  soon  struck 
inland.  On  the  first  of  April,  Scotosh,  who  led  the  ten  war- 
riors, captured  Avith  his  own  hands  Thomas  Edgerton,  who 
was  on  his  way  from  his  cabin,  at  the  mouth  of  Harman's 
creek,  to  Colonel  James  Brown's  fort,  to  borrow  a  log-chain 
of  him.  The  Indians  came  suddenly  upon  him  and  made 
signs  to  him  to  surrender ;  but  he  made  an  effort  to  escape ; 
was  mired  in  the  creek  ;  and  the  savages  made  him  prisoner, 
hurrying  him  with  them  across  the  Ohio.  The  warriors  who 
went  to  Fort  Mcintosh  were  even  more  successful ;  for  they 
ambushed  five  of  tlie  garrison,  killing  or  taking  prisoners  the 
whole  party,  who  were  out  wooil-cutting  and  had  carelessly 
laid  down  their  arms  to  load  their  wagon.  Girty  and  his  war- 
riors went  to  the  home  of  Zachariah  Spriggs,  near  the  site  of 
the  present  West  Liberty,  took  prisoners  John  Stevenson  of 
the  militia  and  one  of  Spriggs's  negroes,  the  latter,  however, 
effecting  his  escape.  The  marauders  passed  a  point  of  land 
about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the  Virginia  Short  creek, 
which  is  still  called  "  Girty's  Point."  They  succeeded  in  re- 
crossing  the  Ohio  with  their  prisoner  and  one  scalp,  reaching 
Upper  Sandusky  on  the  eighth  of  April. f 

On  the  return  of  the  whole  force,  Edgerton  was  left  at  the 
Half  King's  town,  where  a  portion  of  the  Wyandots  remained, 
while  the  residue,  with  Girty  among  them,  proceeded  on  to 
Lower  Sandusky,  when,  on  the  twelfth  of  April,  Girty  wrote 
to  DePeyster,  giving  him  an  account  of  his  maraud. J     So  far 

*  Girty  to  DePeyster,  April  12,  1782,  from  Lower  Sandusky. — MS.  letter, 
Haldimand  Papers, 
t  Girty  to  DePeyster,  April  12,  1782.— MS.  letter  before  cited, 
tid. 


142  Jlitttori/  of  the  Girlys. 


as  sliootiiir;  down  inofTcnsivo  iind  iinsuspt'ctiug  bonleniieti,  or 
hurrying  them  into  the  wihlcnu's.s  us  captives  to  be  tortured 
by  the  Indians,  was  concerned,  he  was  now  certiiinly  acting 
the  part  of  a  savage.  If  lie  did  not,  with  his  own  hands, 
tonialiawk  and  scalp  women  and  chihlren,  it  only  serves  to 
show  that  his  civilized  nature  revolted  from  doing  directly 
what  his  savagery  prompted  him  to  do  indirectly  in  leading 
and  encouraging  the  Indians  to  such  barbarity.  It  is  not 
known  that  he  actually  took  part  with  the  savages  in  tortur- 
ing prisoners  at  the  stake  ;  but  it  is  certain,  as  we  shall  prea- 
ently  see,  that  he  took  delight  in  seeing  it  done. 

Of  the  "Point"  before  mentioned  as  having  received  ita 
name  from  the  circumstance  of  Girty  and  his  warriors  pass- 
ing the  place  with  their  prisoners,  much  has  been  written. 
"  Girty's  Point,  above  the  mouth  of  Short  creek,"  says  a 
Western  chronicler,  "  is  a  short  distance  from  the  Ohio,  and 
is  the  abrupt  terminations  of  one  of  the  elevated  ridges.  It 
derived  its  name  from  the  i'amous  and  infamous  white  rene- 
gade, Simon  Girty.  It  was  his  favorite  place  for  striking  into 
the  interior.  The  path  first  made  by  his  Indians  is  still  used 
by  the  people  of  the  neighborhood.""  ■■- 

"A  settlement  at  West  Middietown,  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  one  at  West  Liberty,  in  the  adjoining 
county  of  Ohio,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,"  are  the  words  of 
another  Western  -writer, '"  were,  in  the  year  1781,  the  most 
advanced  posts  of  the  North-western  frontier.  These  settle- 
ments had  been  the  scenes  of  frequent  skirmishes  between  the 
settlers  and  savages.  The  tribes  of  the  Scioto  and  Miami 
valleys  had  made  this  frontier  a  favorite  point  of  their  maraud- 
ing incursions.  The  war-parties  generally  crossed  the  Ohio 
river  at  the  Mingo  bottom  [on  the  west  side  of  the  river  just 
below  the  present  Steubenville,  Ohio]  ;  and,  taking  advantage 
of  a  deep  ravine  above  a  high  promontory  that  projects  boldly 
into  the  river,  and  known  as  Girty's  Point,  concealed  them- 
selves, if  circumstances  made  concealment  necessary,  or  as- 

*  De  Iliis?,  in  his  Hi'Jtorj'  of  the  Pearly  SuUlument  and  Indian  Wars  of 
Western  V'irginiii,  j).  312. 


Hidory  of  lite  Girti/s.  148 


ccndcd  into  the  liigliliinds  of  the  interior,  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  settlements.  The  infamous  JSimon  (iirty  fre(iiiently 
led  these  marauding  parties  to  tliis  high  point  bearing  his 
name,  wlience  he  sent  out  his  parties,  and  where  he  remained 
till  they  returned  ladene<l  with  the  sanguinary  spoils — pris- 
oners and  scalps  from  the  devasted  settlements."  '•- 

But  these  extracts  are  misleading.  The  maraud  when 
Stevenson  was  taken  prisoner  was  the  only  one  in  which  Clirty 
ever  led  a  war-party  across  the  Ohio  at  or  near  the  "  Point," 
80  far  as  there  is  any  positive  evidence. 

NoTK  I. — Ileckewelder's  assertion  that  Girty  was  "  an  out- 
cast among  mankind  "  is  wholly  unwarranted.  In  no  sense 
(whatever  was  the  cruelty — the  savagery — of  his  nature)  had  he 
been  cast  out  or  expelled  by  his  countrymen  ;  he  was  not  an 
exile — one  driven  from  home  or  country. 

Note  [I. — *' Friday,  March  1  [1782],  through  a  messenger 
[we]  were  summoned  to  Pomoacan  [the  Half  King],  who  sent 
word  he  had  something  to  tell  us.  Br.  David  [Zeisbergcr]  who 
was  especiall^r  summoned  went  there  Saturday,  the  2d  [of  March] 
witli  Br.  Ileckewelder  and  two  Indian  brethren,  where  also  a 
council  of  Wyandots  and  Delawires  Avas  assembled  ;  there  it 
was  told  us  by  the  Half  King  that  a  letter  had  come  from  the 
commandant  in  Detroit  [DePeyster],  which  a  white  man,  Si- 
mon Girtj'  by  name,  had  given  him  to  read,  and  indeed  it  was 
not  written  to  us,  but  to  him  [Simon  Girty]  ;  and  to  our  great 
amazement  it  contained  the  following  sentence  retjardinc  us 
missionaries  : 

"  '  You  [Simon  Girty]  will  please  present  the  strings  I  send 
you  to  the  Half  King  and  tell  him  I  have  listened  to  his  de- 
mand. I  therefore  hope  he  will  give  you  [Girty]  such  assist- 
pnce  as  you  may  think  necessary  to  enable  you  to  bring  the 
teachers  [missionaries]  and  their  families  to  this  place  [De- 
troit].    I  will  by  no  means  allow  you  to   suffer  them  to  be 

*  S.  C.  Coffinborry,  in  the  Monthly  Literary  Miscellany  for  September, 
1851,  p.  388. 


144  Hittory  of  the  Oirlyn. 

pluntlcrcd   or  any   way   ill-troatcd.'  " — Diary  of  David  Zois- 
berger,  Vol.  I,  p.  (58. 

NoTP  III. — It  ia  altogether  probable  that  Lc  Villier  told  the 
missionaries  what  was  not  true  as  to  dirty  having  ordered  him 
to  drive  them  like  cattle  to  Detroit,  between  tliis  Frenchman 
and  Girty  there  was  no  good  feeling ;  besides,  it  would  have 
been  strange  indeed  for  the  latter  to  be  in  any  manner  in- 
strumental in  disobeying  the  positive  injunction  of  DePeyster 
that  they  (the  missionaries)  should  not  ')e  in  any  manner  ill- 
treated. 

Note  IV. — The  site  of  Upper  Sandusky  was  no  longer 
up  the  river  from  what  is  now  the  county-seat  of  Wyandot 
county,  Ohio.  Tiie  Wyandots  had  moved  their  village  eight 
miles  farther  down  the  river  and  on  the  Avest  side  of  the 
stream.  Here  the  Half  King  had  his  home ;  and  this  was 
now  the  kead-quartcrs  of  Simon  Girty,  although  he  was 
frequently,  so  long  as  the  Revolution  lasted,  at  Lower  San- 
dusky. Upper  Sandusky  of  1782  and  the  Half  King's  town 
were,  therefore,  identical.  (For  its  exact  location,  see  An 
Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky  un- 
der Col.  William  Crawford  in  1782,  p.  162.) 


Ilintory  fif  the  Girhjx.  145 


ClIArTMK  XVI. 

Wo  will  now  rotuni  to  the  Moraviiiii  missionaries  at  their 
quarters  upon  the  Sandusky,  eight  miles  above  the  Half  King's 
town.  Agreeably  to  the  letter  from  DcPeystcr  and  the  desire 
of  Le  Yillier,  they  had  departed  for  Lower  Sandusky  on  their 
way  to  Detroit,  commencing  their  journey  on  the  15th  of 
March,  with  the  person  last  named,  instead  of  Girty,  as  their 
conductor.  "  Many  of  the  brethren  and  sisters  ['  Moravian  '  In- 
dians]," says  lleckeweldor,  "  accompanied  us  part  of  the  way, 
and  some  continued  with  us  until  our  arrival  at  this  place 
[Lower  Sandusky]  ;  the  sisters  carrying  our  two  small  children 
by  turns  on  their  backs  well  secured  in  their  blankets  from  the 
wet  and  cold.  Our  conductor,  Mr.  Lavallie  [La  Villier],  see- 
ing the  senior  missionary  [David]  Zeisberger,  (at  that  time 
upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age)  set  out  on  foot,  took  his  own 
riding  horse  to  him,  saying  :  '  No,  monsieur  !  that  will  not  do  ! 
here  is  my  horse  at  your  service  !  Zeisberger  replying  :  that 
he  would  try  to  walk  with  the  rest.  '  No  1'  (said  the  French- 
man) '  respect  both  for  your  age,  and  the  station  you  are  in, 
demands  this  of  me  as  a  duty !'  and  walking  oft",  he  took  his 
post  in  the  rear  of  us.  It  was  a  most  fatiguing  journey  to 
us  all,  on  account  of  the  badness  of  the  roads ;  and  par- 
ticularly to  those  who  were  afflicted  with  rheumatic  pains. 

"Arriving  at  Lower  Sandusky,  after  several  days  traveling 
through  the  wilderness  and  swampy  grounds,  Ave  Avere  kindly 
received,  by  two  English  traders,  who  resided  about  a  mile 
from  each  other,  with  the  principal  village  of  the  Wyandots 
between  them.  Mr.  Arundle  having  a  spacious  house,  took 
in  those  who  had  families,  while  Mr.  Robbins  made  the  two 
single  brethren  welcome  at  his  house,  our  conductor  lodging 
with  the  former.  With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Arundle,  a  let- 
ter was  immediately  written  to  the  commandant  at  Detroit 
10 


146  History  of  the  Girtys. 


[Major  DePeystcr],  and  sent  by  express,  to  inform  him 
of  our  arrival  at  this  pLace,  setting  forth  our  situation — the 
impossibility  of  our  traveling  by  land  to  Detroit  (as  Girty 
had  ordered  it),  and  hoping  he  would  assist  us  with  a  boat, 
etc."  * 

The  return  to  Lower  Sandusky  of  the  warriors  of  that  place 
who  had  gone  against  Fort  Mcintosh  and  the  settlements 
above  Wheeling,  is  thus  given  by  Ileckewelder : 

"  It  so  happened,  that  one  day,  when  all  appeared  quiet  at 
and  about  the  village  [of  Lower  Sandusky],  I  took  a  walk  to 
Mr.  Robbins's  house,  where  the  brethren.  Young  and  Edwards, 
were  lodged  ;  and  while  there,  the  scalp  yell  was  sounded  at  the 
same  time,  in  two  opposite  directions;  and  both  war-parties 
could,  owing  to  the  very  high  situation  of  *he  spot  the  house 
was  on,  be  plainly  seen,  coming  on  with  their  prisoners  and 
scalps,  though  yet  a  great 'distance :  both  parties  having 
prairie  ground  to  travel  on.  Having  asked  Mr.  Robbins's 
opinion,  which  would  be  the  best  for  me  to  do,  to  go  straight- 
way home  to  ray  quarters,  or  wait  until  the  storm  was  over, 
he  advised  the  first;  for  me  it  was  fortunate  that  the  situation 
of  the  village,  prevented  the  inhabitants  hearing  the  yells  on 
the  back  side,  the  way  I  was  coming;  while  from  the  other 
side,  they  not  only  heard  the  yells  plainly,  but  also  saw  the 
party  with  their  prisoners  and  scalps  advancing,  and  knowing 
that  they  would  be  taken  to  the  dwelling  of  the  captain  of  the 
party  (but  about  fifteen  yards  beyond  Mr.  Arundle's  house), 
they  all  ran  full  speed  from  the  village  to  meet  them  ;  Avhich 
gave  me  an  opportunity  of  passing  through  the  village  after 
they  left  it;  and  I  had  just  reached  my  lodgings,  when  the 
party,  consisting  of  fourteen  warriors,  with  three  prisoners, 
and  some  scalps,  which  they  had  taken  at  Fort  Mcintosh  (they 
being  on  fatigue  while  attacked  and  taken),  were  ascending 
the  bank  at  the  back  side  of  the  house  we  lodged  in,  and  from 
whence  these  prisoners  had  to  take  their  start,  in  running 
what   is  generally  called  the   '  gauntlet.'     The  other  party, 


•  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  329,  330. 


History  of  the  Girfys.  147 

who  came  in  from  the  back  side,  having  none  but  scalps, 
stopped  at  the  viHagc,  from  where  as  from  the  opposite  side, 
the  scalp  yell  was  sounded  and  resounded  at  intervals."  * 

The  missionaries,  who  had  now  been  nearly  four  weeks  at 
Lower  Sandusky  awaiting  an  answer  from  the  commandant 
at  Detroit,  were  getting  uneasy  lest  Girty  should  return  before 
their  departure ;  in  which  event,  they  feared  ill-treatment  at 
his  hands,  believing  as  they  did  all  they  had  heard  as  to  or- 
ders he  had  given  LcVillier  respecting  them.  We  will  let 
Heckewclder  narrate  what  happened  now  that  Girty  had  ar- 
rived and  found  them  not  yet  gone  : 

"  He  [Girty]  did  return,  and  behaved  like  a  madman,  on 
hearing  that  we  were  here,  and  that  our  conductor  had  dis- 
obeyed his  orders,  and  had  sent  a  letter  to  the  commandant  at 
Detroit  respecting  us.  He  flew  at  the  Frenchman,  who  was 
in  the  room  adjoining  ours,  most  furiously,  striding  at  him, 
and  threatening  to  split  his  head  in  two  for  disobeying  the 
orders  he  had  given  him.  He  swore  the  most  horrid  oaths  re- 
specting us,  and  continued  in  that  way  until  after  midnight. 
His  oaths  were  all  to  the  purport  that  he  never  would  leave  the 
house  until  he  had  split  our  heads  in  two.  with  his  tomahawk, 
and  made  our  brains  stick  to  the  walls  of  the  room  in  which 
we  were.  I  omit  the  names  he  called  us  by,  and  the  words  he 
made  use  of  while  swearing,  as  also  the  place  he  would  go  to 
if  he  did  not  fulfill  all  Avhich  he  ha^l  sworn  that  he  would  do 
to  ua.  He  had  somewhere  procured  liquor,  and  would,  as  we 
were  told  by  those  who  were  near  him,  at  every  drink  renew 
his  oaths,  which  he  repeated  until  he  fell  asleep. 

"  Never  before  did  any  of  us  hear  the  like  oaths,  or  know 
any  body  to  rave  like  him.  He  appeared  like  an  host  of  evil 
spirits.  He  would  sometimes  come  up  to  the  bolted  door  be- 
tween us  and  him,  threatening  to  chop  it  in  pieces  to  get  at 
us.  No  Indian  we  had  ever  seen  drunk  would  have  been  a 
match  for  him.  How  we  should  escape  the  clutches  of  this 
white  beast  in  human  form  no  one  could  foresee.  Yet  at  the 
proper  time  relief  was  at  hand;  for,  on  the  morning,  at  break 

•  lli'ckeweldor's  Narrative,  pp.  'i'6l,  332. 


148  History  of  the  Girtys. 

of  day,  and  while  he  still  was  sleeping,  two  large  flat-bottomed 
boats  arrived  from  Detroit,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  us  to 
that  place.  This  was  joyful  news !  And  seeing  the  letter 
written  by  the  commandant  to  Mr.  xVrundle  respecting  us,  we 
were  satisfied  that  we  would  be  relieved  from  the  hands  of 
this  wicked  white  savage,  whose  equal,  we  were  led  to  believe, 
was  (perhaps)  not  to  be  found  among  mankind.-^ 

And  thus  Zeisberger :  "An  Englishman  [Girty]  who  lives 
among  the  Wyandots,  who  received  the  order  to  conduct  us  to 
Detroit,  but,  because,  together  Avith  the  Indians,  he  went  to 
the  war,  had  got  another  to  take  his  place  to  go  with  us,  came 
back  from  the  war  and  showed  himself  a  Satan  towards  us, 
swore  at  us,  and  threatened  to  bury  the  tomahawk  in  our 
heads.  Through  the  whole  nitjht  he  drank  his  fill  in  the  house 
where  Ave  were,  and  we  Avero  in  danger  of  our  life,  not  alone 
from  him :  a  Wyandot  squaAV  Avho  robbed  us  in  Sch(3nbrunn, 
Ave  heard  say  again  and  again,  she  Avould  come  and  kill  us  all. 
We  could  not  sleep  the  Avhole  night,  for  he  [Girty]  Avas  like 
one  mad,  and  Avorse  than  the  drunken  Indians,  yet  the  Savior 
shielded  us  from  harm  and  let  the  angels  sing :  '  They  shall  be 
uninjured."  "  f 

A  curiosity  is  noAV  naturally  aAvakened  to  know  if  the  confi- 
dent expectations  of  IIcckcAvelder  in  escaping  the  Avrath  of 
Girty  Avere  realized.  His  account  of  the  matter  is  inter- 
esting :  . 

"  The  letter  from  the  commandant  [at  Detroit — Major  De- 
Peyster] — after  first  thanking  the  gentlemen  here  [at  LoAver 
Sandusky],  for  their  kindness  to  us ;  ne.xt  requested  them  to 
inform  him,  if  they  knew  any  of  the  persons,  Avho  had  taken 
the  liberty  of  insulting  us,  either  before  or  since  we  had  ar- 
rived at  this  place  [LoAver  Sandusky],  and  if  so,  to  give  him 

*  Heckeweldcr's  NdrrativR,  pp.  332-334. 

t  Diiiry  ot  David  Zeisberger,  Vol.  I,  p.  80.  Both  the  iiiissionarie!)  were 
unduly  t'rightoned  at  the  boisteroua  behavior  of  Girty.  H.id  he  broken 
in  ui)on  them,  the  result  would  have  been,  beyond  a  doubt,  only  more 
swearing  and  threatening;  for  the  renegade  stood  in  too  much  faar  of  De- 
Peyster  to  have  harmed  them,  drunk  as  he  was. 


History  of  the  Girius  149 


their  names,  that  he  might  punish  tliem,  etc. — That  he  had 
given  strict  orders  to  the  sergeant,  who  was  to  take  us  on,  to 
treat  us  kindly — not  endanger  our  lives  on  the  lake  (Erie)  by 
sailing  in  stormy  weather,  nor  even  to  proceed,  when  he  found 
that  wo  considered  it  dangerous,  or  showed  marks  of  fear, 
and  finally  that  Francis  Lavallie  [Le  Villier],  who  had  brought 
us  so  carefully  thus  far,  should  continue  with  us,  till  our  ar- 
rival at  Detroit;  and  guard  us  against  any  insults,  which 
might  be  intended  against  us  by  Indians,  &c.  The  letter  be- 
ing read  to  Captain  Girty  by  Mr.  Arundle,  in  the  morning, 
we  saw  no  more  of  him  while  here. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  April,  after  a  stay  of 
near  four  weeks  at  this  place,  we,  after  taking  an  affectionate 
leave  of  our  humane  and  hospitable  hosts,  Arundle  and  Rob- 
bins,  embarked  in  the  boats,  with  seven  men  of  the  king's 
rangers  to  each  boat,  the  one  under  the  care  of  Sergeant  Race, 
and  the  other  under  a  corporal  of  the  same  name.  The  l)oat3 
were  either  rowed  or  put  under  sail,  as  the  wind  was  favorable  ; 
but  lying  to  in  boisterous  weather.  We  were  on  the  whole 
iOyage  treated  by  the  boatsmen,  with  kindness;  and  not  an 
oath  was  heard  during  the  voyage."  '■'• 

Some  time  after  the  return  home  of  Scotosh  to  Upper  San- 
dusky from  his  raid  to  the  eastward,  the  prisoner  he  had  cap- 
tured was  presented  to  his  mother,  the  wife  of  the  Half  King, 
to  be  adopted  in  place  of  the  sons  she  had  lost  in  the  Poe 
fight ;  but  the  squaw  refused  the  present.  It  was  thereupon 
decided  that  he  should  be  tortured  at  the  stake.  The  story 
of  the  whole  affair  subsequently  reached  the  ears  of  Ilecke- 
welder,  who  was  misinformed,  however,  as  to  the  person  that 
captured  the  prisoner,  as  well  as  regarding  other  matters  con- 
nected with  it.     The  following  is  his  version  of  the  event : 

"  In  the  spring  of  the  year  1782,  the  war  chief  [Abraham 
Kuhn]  of  the  Wyandots  of  Lower  Sandusky  sent  a  white 
prisoner  (a  young  man  whom  he  had  taken  at  Fort  Mcintosh) 
as  a  present  to  another  chief,  who  was  called  the  Half  King 

•  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  pp.  334,  336. 


150  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

of  Upper  Sandusky,  for  the  purpose  of  being  adopted  into  his 
family,  in  the  place  of  one  of  his  sons,  who  had  been  killed 
the  preceding  year  while  at  war  with  the  people  on  the  Ohio. 
[In  the  Poe  fight.]  The  prisoner  arrived  and  was  presented 
to  the  Half  King's  Avife,  but  she  refused  to  receive  him,  which, 
according  to  the  Indian  rule,  was,  in  fact,  a  sentence  of  death. 
The  young  man  was  therefore  taken  away,  for  the  purpose 
of  being  tortured  and  burnt  on  the  pile.  While  the  dread- 
ful preparations  were  making  near  the  village,  the  unhappy 
victim  being  already  tied  to  the  stake,  and  the  Indians  ai-riv- 
ing  from  all  quarters  to  join  in  the  cruel  act  or  to  Avitness  it, 
two  English  traders,  Messrs.  Arundle  and  Jtobbins  (I  delight 
in  making  this  honorable  mention  of  their  names),  shocked  at 
the  idea  of  the  cruelties  which  were  about  to  be  perpetrated, 
and  moved  by  feelings  of  pity  and  humanity,  resolved  to  unite 
their  exertions  to  endeavor  to  save  the  prisoner's  life  by  offer- 
ing a  ransom  to  the  war-chief  [Abraham  Kuhn],  which  he 
however  refused,  because,  said  he,  it  was  an  established  rule 
among  them  that  when  a  prisoner  who  had  been  given  as  a 
present  was  refused  adoption,  he  was  irrevocably  doomed  to 
the  stake,  and  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  any  one  to  save  his 
life.  Besides,  added  he,  the  numerous  war  captains  who  were 
on  the  spot  had  it  in  charge  to  see  the  sentence  carried  into 
execution.  The  two  generous  Englishmen,  however,  were  not 
discouraged,  and  determined  to  try  a  last  effort.  They  well 
knew  what  effects  the  high-minded  pride  of  an  Indian  was 
capable  of  producing,  and  to  this  strong  and  noble  passion 
they  directed  their  attacks.  '  But,'  said  they  in  reply  to  the 
answer  which  the  chief  had  made  them,  '  among  all  those 
chiefs  whom  you  have  mentioned,  there  are  none  who  equals 
you  in  greatness ;  you  are  considered  not  only  as  the  greatest 
and  bravest,  but  as  the  best  man  in  the  nation.'  '  Do  you 
really  believe  what  you  say  ?  '  said  at  once  the  Indian,  looking 
them  full  in  the  face.  'Indeed,  we  do.'  Then  without  saying 
another  word  he  blackened  himself  and  taking  his  knife  and 
tomahawk  in  his  hand  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  to  the 
unhappy  victim,  crying  out  with  a  loud  voice, '  What  have  you 


History  of  the  Girtys.  151 

to  do  with  m?/ prisoner  ? '  and  at  once  cutting  the  cords  with 
which  he  was  tied,  took  him  to  his  house  which  was  near  Mr. 
Arundle's,  where  he  was  forthwith  secured  and  carried  off  by 
safe  hands  to  Detroit."  *  The  name  of  the  prisoner  was 
Thomas  Edgerton,  already  mentioned. f  Scotosh  treated 
Edgcrton  with  kindness  on  liis  way  to  the  Sandusky  and  upon 
his  arrival  at  the  Half  King's  town. 

After  the  departure  of  the  missionaries  from  Lower  San- 
dusky, Simon  Girty  made  his  way  (it  was  the  thirteenth  of 
April)  to  Upper  Sandusky,  meeting  Edgerton  there  and  in- 
forming him  (which,  before,  he  had  not  known  ;  for  this  was 
before  his  narrow  escape  from  torture)  that  the  Indian  whose 
prize  he  (Edgerton)  was,  was  none  other  than  the  survivor  of 
the  Poe  fight  and  the  only  remaining  son  of  the  Half  King — 
bearing  on  his  hand  the  scar  of  a  severe  wound  there  re- 
ceived.J  Scotosh  had  previously  given  the  particulars  of  the 
encounter  to  Girty,  the  latter  recounting  them  to  Edgerton. 
He  (Scotosh)  stated  that,  on  finding  himself  disabled  by  his 
wound,  he  stole  away  from  the  fight  and,  swimming  the  Ohio, 
hid  in  the  bushes  until  dark.  He  then  constructed  a  raft,  re- 
crossed  the  river,  and  recovered  the  body  of  his  slain  brother 
(the  other  one  having  floated  off),  conveyed  it  to  the  Indian 
side  of  the  Ohio,  and  there  buried  it,  after  which  he  made  his 
way  in  sorrow  to  the  Sandusky.  Edgerton  paid  a  high  tribute 
to  Indian  virtue  in  his  description  of  this  warrior.  According 
to  his  account,  he  waa  a  man  of  excellent  principles.  He 
(Scotosh)  defended  him  on  his  way  to  the  Sandusky,  when  his 
life  was  in  danger  from  the  other  warriors  of  the  party,  and 
shared  with  him  his  blanket,  even  giving  him  the  largest 
part ;  he  also  divided  with  him  the  last  morsel  of  meat. 
Edgerton  wass  afterward  sent  to  Detroit  and  finally  released, 
reaching  his  home  in  safety.  § 

*  Heckewelder's  History  Indian  Nations,  pp.  162,  163. 

t  Vermont  Historical  Society  Collections,  Vol.  II.,  p.  350  (where  Edger- 
ton's  name  is  given  "Adgerton  "). 

X  Newton's  History  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virginia,  ]).  114. 

g  Newton's  History  of  the  Piin-Handlo,  West  Virginia,  p.  144.  The  Action 
about  the  big  Indian,  in  the  P.)e  fight,  is  retained  by  RiKisevelt. 


152  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Among  those  captured  at  Lochry's  defeat  was  Christian 
Fast,  of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  of  that  jiart 
which  afterward  became  Fayette — a  boy  about  seventeen 
years  of  age.  He  was  wounded  before  being  made  prisoner, 
suffering  much,  but  his  life  was  spared,  lie  was  taken  by 
the  Delawares  to  Upper  Sandusky  (the  Half  King's  town), 
thence  to  Pipe's  town  on  the  Tymochtee,  some  eight  miles 
away.  Young  Fast  was  adopted  into  a  Delaware  family,  in 
the  place  of  a  son  who  had  lost  his  life  in  a  border  skirmish. 
He  was  still  residing  with  his  IndiaTi  parents  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tymochtee,  in  1782,  when  Girty  came  up  from  Lower 
Sandusky  to  the  Half  King's  town.  Girty  was  constantly  on 
the  move ;  first  at  Wingenund's  camp  in  the  present  Jackson 
township,  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  a  short  distance  west  of 
what  is  now  Crestline ;  then  at  Pipe's  town,  where  young 
Fast  was  living.  Naturally,  the  latter  became  at  times  very 
melancholy.  Thoughts  of  home  stole  upon  him.  Upon 
one  of  these  occasions,  he  left  the  wigwam  where  he  was 
staying  and  proceeded  a  short  distance  into  the  Avoods,  and, 
seating  himself  upon  a  log,  soon  was  lost  in  meditation. 
While  thus  musing,  he  was  accosted  by  a  stranger  who  had 
suddeidy  come  near  him  unperceived.  Fast  Avas  spoken  to  in 
the  Delaware  language  by  his  visitor,  the  latter  inquiring 
what  he  was  thinking  about.  The  reply  was,  that  he  had  no 
company  and  felt  lonesome.  "  That  is  not  it,"  said  the 
stranger,  "  you  are  thinking  of  home.  Be  a  good  boy  and 
you  shall  see  your  home  again."  The  speaker  was  Simon 
Girty.  It  was  but  another  instance  of  his  kindness  to  boy 
prisoners.  Fast  afterward  got  pretty  well  acquainted  with 
Girty,  and  was  the  recipient  of  several  favors  at  his  hands. 
The  boy  subsequently  made  his  escape  from  a  war-party  with 
which  he  had  gone  into  the  settlements,  and  reached  home  in 
safety.* 

In  1782,  Thomas  Girty  is  again  heard  of,  from  a  petition 

*  For  parliculiirs  of  the  ciiiHure  of  Christian  FheI,  see  Knapp's  History 
of  As'hlaiid  tMiinty,  Ohio.  pp.  007-509.  CumiiHrf  also  Hill's  History  of  the 
Bame  county,  pp.  133-138.    (See,  too,  Beach's  Indiuii  Miscellany,  pp.  66,  67. 


\.f 


History  of  the  Girfys.  153 


signed  by  him  and  four  other  citizens,  addressed  to  Brigadier- 
General  William  Irvine,  then  in  command  of  Fort  Pitt,  and 
dated  the  29th  of  May  of  the  year  last  mentioned.  "  The 
humble  petition,"  say  the  signers,  "  of  a  part  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town  of  Pittsburgh  most  humbly  bcgeth :  that 
your  honor  Avill  be  pleased  to  take  it  into  consideration,  that 
several  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  this  town  have  of  late 
made  a  constant  practice  in  playing  at  long  bullets  in  the 
street  that  goes  up  by  the  brew-house,  and  that  a  number  of 
■  children  belonging  to  us,  who  are  dwellers  on  the  same  street, 
are  in  danger  of  their  lives  by  the  said  evil  practices, — we 
therefore  hope  (since  we  have  no  civil  magistrate  to  apply  to) 
that  your  honor  will  condescend  to  put  a  stop  to  such  practices 
in  the  street,  by  your  own  special  orders."  -^  The  practice,  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  was  at  once  strictly  prohibited. 

•  Washiiii;toii-Irvine  Cori'osponclenco,  pp.  290,  Hill.  "  Thu  power  of  cir- 
ciimstniiL'es  and  educHtion  to  tiffect  llie  lives  and  conduct  of  men  is  here 
strikingly  exemplified.  Tlionias  Giicy,  reared  among  patriotic  and  civil- 
izing  influences,  was  now  one  of  the  respected  atid  substantial  citizens  of 
Pittsburgh  (Fort  Pitt),  and  at  the  very  time  his  three  Indian  brothers 
were  joining  in  the  war-whoop  of  the  braves  .  .  .  he  was  known  as  a 
lover  of  his  country  and  was  seeking  to  increase  the  security  and  good  order 
of  his  town." — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  266,  207. 
This  statement  is  based  upon  the  petition  given  in  the  text  above,  from  the 
Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  where  it  is  for  the  flrst  time  published. 


154  History  of  the  Girfys. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Leaving  Simon  Girty  upon  the  Sandusky  chiefly  in  the 
company  of  the  Half  King  of  the  Wyandots,  plotting  against 
his  countrymen,  doing  all  in  his  power  to  further  British  in- 
terests, and  urging  parties  of  Indians  onward  to  attack  the 
frontiers,  let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  aspect  of  affairs  in 
the  border  settlements  to  the  eastward.  In  the  previous  fall — 
1781 — Colonel  Brodhead  had  been  relieved  as  commandant  at 
Fort  Pitt  by  Colonel  John  Gibson,  and  the  latter  in  November 
following  by  Brigadier-General  William  Irvine. 

Because  of  the  scarcity  of  provisions  upon  the  Sandusky, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians,  in- 
cluding men,  women,  and  children,  were  allowed  to  go  back  to 
the  Tuscarawas,  by  the  Half  King,  to  gather  corn,  which  had 
been  left  standing  by  them  in  the  fields  of  their  villages. 
They  started,  some  on  the  16th  and  others  on  the  19th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1782,  neither  of  the  missionaries  nor  any  other  white 
persons  accompanying  them.  However,  it  was  the  9th  of  Feb- 
ruary, before  all  had  departed.  With  these  "Moravians" 
went  ten  other  Indians,*  but  of  what  tribe  is  unknoAvn,  though 
doubtless  they  were  Wyandots.  On  the  8th  of  February,  war- 
riors reached  the  border,  killing  one  person — John  Fink.  A 
party  of  Indians,  numbering  forty,  as  indicated  by  their 
tracks,  of  whom  not  less  than  thirty  were,  from  the  best  in- 
formation that  can  be  got  "  Moravians,"  raided  from  the  Tus- 
carawas into  the  settlements,  capturing,  on  Raccoon  creek, 
Mrs.  Robert  Wallace  and  her  three  children,  but  the  youngest 
and  Mrs.  Wallace  were  tomahawked  before  the  Ohio  was 
reached.     This  occurred  on  the  tenth  of  the  same  month.f 

*  Dorsey  Pentecost  to  the  Governor  of  PennsylvHnia,  May  8,  1782,  in 
Pennsylvania  A.rchives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p.  540. 

t  The  tracks  of  forty  warriors  were  noted  (see  Pennsylvania  Packet, 
March  30,  and  April  10,  1782);  there  could  not  have  been,  therefore,  less 
than  thirty  of  the  party  "Moravians,"  as  no  other  Indians,  save  the  ten 


Ilutorij  of  the  Girtys.  155 

Soon  after,  a  war-party  of  six,  of  whom  two  were  "Mora- 
vians," also  left  the  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas,  striking  the 
settlements  on  Buffalo  creek  and  carrying  off  John  Carpenter 
as  prisoner.*  There  was  now  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  bor- 
derers that  "enemy  Indians" — that  is,  "British  Indians" — 
were  harboring  in  the  recently  deserted  "  Moravian  "  Indian 
towns  upon  the  Tuscarawas.  Thereupon,  James  Marshel,  lieu- 
tenant of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  ordered  out,  ac- 
cording to  law,  some  of  the  militia  to  march  across  the  Ohio  and 
attack  them.f  The  force  was  commanded  by  Colonel  David 
Williamson.  Upon  reaching  the  Tuscarawas,  ninety  of  the 
"  Moravian  "  Indians — men,  women,  and  children — together 
with  six  of  the  other  Indians  who  had  come  with  them  from  the 
Sandusky,  were  captured  at  Gnadenhiitten,  and  subsequently  all 
killed,  except  two  boys  who  succeeded  in  eluding  the  militia.J 
The  residue  of  those  from  the  Sandusky  were  in  one  of  the 
other  villages  ;  these,  taking  the  alarm,  made  good  their  es- 
cape. The  militia  supposed,  until  they  learned  the  contrary 
from  their  prisoners,  that  they  had  captured  only  British  In- 
dians. When  they  became  assured  that  most  of  the  captured 
were  "  Moravians,"  they  concluded  to  take  them  to  Fort  Pitt 
and  deliver  them  to  General  Irvine,  who  commanded  there, 
and  they  so  informed  their  prisoners;  but  subsequently  they 
discovered  garments  and  other  things  in  possession  of  the 
captives,  which  convinced  them  that  they — the  "  Moravian  " 
Indians — had  just  been  raiding  into  the  settlements,  and  that 
it  was  theii'  trail  which  had  been  followed  by  the  militia  ;  which 
belief,  as  to  about  thirty  of  those  Indians,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  was  well  founded.  , 


warriDrs  already  mentioned,  had,  up  to  that  time,  reached  the  Tuscarawas 
from  'heir  villages  to  the  westward  of  that  river. 

•  Pennsylvania  Packet,  April  16,  1782. 

t  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  239,  240,  where  this  fact  (that 
is,  that  those  who  marched  were  not  oni.'  militia,  but  were  regularly  called 
out  by  the  proper  authority)  is,  for  the  first  time,  published. 

I  "One  of  them  [that  is,  one  of  the  militia]  took  off  with  him  a  small  In- 
dian boy,  whose  life  was  thus  spared." — Roosevelt.  This  has  long  since 
been  proven  erroneous. 


156  Ilidorij  of  the  Girlij». 

Williamson's  men,  suddenly  mside  dcaporato  by  what  thoy 
had  discovered  (some  of  the  bloody  garments  being  recognized 
as  having  belonged  to  the  victims  of  one  of  the  raids  before 
mentioned),  resolved  to  put  to  death,  Avithout  discrimination, 
all  who  were  in  their  hands ;  and  this  resolution,  as  we  have 
already  mentioned,  they  proceeded  to  carry  into  effect.  It 
was  a  ghastly  retaliation,  only  made  possible  by  the  previous 
aggressions  of  the  thirty  "  Moravian  "  Indians  and  the  "  Brit- 
ish Indians  "  who  were  with  them. 

Dorsey  Pentecost,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  West,  wrote 
to  the  governor  of  I'cnnsylvania  on  the  8th  of  May.  In 
speaking  of  the  killing  of  the  "  Moi-avians,"  he  declares  that, 
"  Thus  far,  I  believe,  it  may  be  depended  on,  that  they  [Will- 
iamson's men]  killed  rather  deliberately  the  innocent  with  the 
guilty,  and  it  is  likely  the  majority  was  the  former ;"  that  is, 
that  a  majority  of  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians  taken  prisoners 
at  Gnadenhiitten  had  not,  it  is  likely,  been  on  the  late  maraud 
into  the  settlements. 

It  was  no  new  thing  for  the  "  Moravians  "  to  go  upon  the 
war-path  against  the  border  settlements,  though  this  was  never 
with  the  consent  of  the  missionaries.  T'ut  the  former  could 
not  always  be  kept  under  control,  much  less  watched.  "  Did 
your  Indians,"  afterward  asked  DePeyster  of  Zeisberger, 
"  ever  go  to  war  ?  "  "  Never,"  was  the  reply,  "  while  under 
our  charge."  This  was  virtually  an  admission  that  they  did 
sometimes  go  to  war  when  not  under  the  missionaries'  charge. 
And  it  is  certain  they  were  not,  at  any  time  during  the  year 
1782,  under  the  charge  of  any  one  of  th-^.n,  either  at  Gnaden- 
hiitten or  any  where  else  upon  the  Tuscarawas.  That  the  sur- 
viving "  Moravians,"  some  of  them,  afterward  went  to  war 
upon  the  Sandusky,  is  susceptible  of  the  clearest  proof. 

That  garments  and  other  articles  were  found  at  Gnadenhiitten 
in  possession  of  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians,  which  had  just  been 
taken  from  the  Americans  in  the  raids  before  mentioned,  even 
the  Moravian  writers  do  not  deny.  It  must  stand  as  a  fact 
that  can  not  be  gainsaid.  "  It  is  said  here  [in  Pittsburgh],  and 
I  believe  with  truth,"  wrote  Pentecost  in  the  letter  already  re- 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  157 

fcrred  t(i,  "  Unit  sundry  articles  were  found  amongst  tho 
["  Moravian  "]  Indiiins  tliiit  were  taken  from  the  inhabitants 
of  Wasliington  county  [on  the  then  recent  raids]."  '-^ 

"Tho  borderers,"  wrote  one  who  got  his  information  from 
the  militia  after  their  return,  "  discovered  that  some  of  the 
['Moravian']  Indians  were  wearing  their  friends'  clothes  who 
had  been  killed  and  scalped ;  and  they  also  saw  various  kinds 
of  plunder  that  had  been  taken  in  the  war."  f 

Corroborative,  to  a  certain  extent,  of  the  "  Moravian  "  In- 
dians having  taken  part,  in  considerable  numbers,  in  the  raid 
on  Raccoon  creek,  which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  Mrs.  Robert 
Wallace,  as  before  mentioned,  is  the  opinion  of  II.  II.  Brack- 
enridge,  of  Pittsburgh,  as  given  to  Francis  IJailey,  of  Philadel- 
phia, on  the  Hd  of  August,  of  the  same  year.  "  I  am  .  .  . 
disposed  to  believe  that  the  greater  part  of  the  men  ["  Mo- 
ravian "  Indians]  put  to  death  [at  Gnadenhiittcn]  were  war- 
riors ;  this  appears  from  the  testimony  of  one  against  another, 
from  the  confession  of  many,  from  their  singing  the  war 
song  when  ordered  out  to  be  tomahawked,  from  tho  cut  and 
painting  of  their  hair,  and  from  other  civcumstances."  X 

It  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  all  persons  who  were  under 
Williamson  and  who  afterAvard  made  statements  concerning 
the  expedition  which  have  been  preserved,  that  it  was  the  dis- 
covery of  articles  of  clothing  in  possession  of  tho  "  Mora- 
vians," taken  from  persons  killed  on  the  then  recent  raids 
into  the  se*  'ements,  which  induced  the  militia  to  change  their 
minds  about  taking  them  to  Fort  Pitt. 

*  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Old  Series,  Vol.  IX,  p.  540,  already  cited. 

f  James  Smith,  in  a  Treatise  on  Modern  Miiniigement  of  Indian  "War, 
p.  68. 

X  From  the  Knight  and  Slover  Narratives,  original  edition  (1783),  p.  31. 
As  to  the  •' Gnadcnhiitten  Affair,"  compare,  for  many  particulars,  Wash- 
ington-Irvine Correspondence,  pp.  07,  99,  127,  236-239,  240-242,  244,  282, 
288,  289,  361,  372-374,  377,  and  the  authorities  there  cited.  For  a  weak  at- 
tempt of  a  Moravian  writer  to  account  for  the  "Moravian"  Indians  having 
in  their  possession  trophies  of  the  raids  into  Washington  county,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  exonerate  them  from  any  participation  in  those  marauds,  see 
Schweinitz's  Life  and  Times  of  David  Zeiaborger,  p.  646,  note. 


168  ITiHtory  of  the  Oiriys. 


A  wild  and  wholly  acnsationiil  story — erroneous  in  every 
particular — has  found  its  way  into  print  to  the  effect  that 
Williamson's  expedition  was  planned  in  reality  by  the  British 
at  Detroit;  that  it  was  part  of  the  British  policy  matured 
there,  of  1  aving  the  "  Moravian  "  Indians  massacred  by  ex- 
cited American  borderers,  -n  order  to  bring  over  to  the  Brit- 
ish side  all  the  tribes,  and  unite  them  against  the  colonists; 
and  that  Simon  Girty  in  disguise  went  to  the  border  settle- 
ments and  among  his  old  acrjuaintances,  where  he  started  and 
hurried  on  the  expedition  against  the  Moravian  towns.  "This 
was  the  kind  of  doubh-  life  that  Girty  gloried  in  ;  first  on  the 
border,  exciting  the  whites  to  kill  the  Christian  ["  Moravian  "] 
Indians  and  burn  their  towns  in  the  valley ;  next  at  the  war- 
riors' towns,  inciting  them  to  revenge  the  deaths  of  those 
Christians  ;  and  he  lost  no  time  in  fanning  the  flame  in  their 
camp  fires."  * 

Appropos  of  the  account  of  the  killing  of  the  '*  Moravian  " 
Indians  at  Gnadenhiitten,  is  the  fiction  of  Simon  Girty  hav- 
ing, about  that  time,  sold  to  one  of  them  a  young  lad  named 
Isaac  Walker.  The  writer  of  that  romance  mentions  that  a 
patriarch  of  these  Indians,  named  Abraham,  visited  in  the 
previous  fall,  "  along  with  other  worthies,''  the  Wyandot  vil- 
lages on  the  waters  of  the  Sandusky,  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing some  captives  that  might  have  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  ruthless  Wyandots  that  season.  They  remained  on  the 
Sandusky  until  after  the  tragedy  of  Gnailenhiitten  and  then 
set  out  to  return  (at  least  one  of  them — "  Father  Abraham). 
The  writer  then  goes  on  to  say  : 

"  Six  weeks  after  the  spoiler  had  left  his  bloody  foot-prints 
on  the  thresholds  of  the  Moravian  villages,  the  good  patriarch, 
Father  Abraham,  returned  from  his  mission  to  the  Wyandots. 
He  led  in  his  hand  a  white  lad  of  twelve  years  old,  by  the 
the  name  of  Isaac  Walker,  whom,  at  an  exorbitant  price,  he 
had  purchased  from  [Simon]  Girty,  with  a  view  of  restoring 
him  to   his  pareivts  in  Virginia.     But  he  found  his  village 

*  Newton's  History  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virginia,  pp.  112,  113. 


History  of  the  Qirtyt.  159 


[Gniidonhiittcn]  in  aslics,  liis  fields  laid  waste,  and  tlie  blood 
of  his  children  dried  in  clots  on  liiw  giant  stairway.  The  poor 
old  man  stood  and  gazed  in  silence  over  this  scene  of  deso- 
lation. The  party  that  had  acconipanied  [him]  remained  in 
the  foreat  behind  him,  to  chase  the  elk  and  the  nioonc.  He 
stood  alone  of  all  his  people  in  the  midst  of  this  ruin.  No 
one  was  present  but  the  fair-haired  boy,  he  led  by  the  hand, 
lie  turned  to  that  boy  and  thus  addressed  him  : 

" '  lioy,  I  took  you  from  the  firm  Wyandot  to  restore  you 
to  the  bosom  of  your  parents;  but  go,  plunge  again  into  the 
wilderness ;  it  is  better  to  be  a  redman  thiin  a  pale  face.  The 
God  of  the  pale  face  is  false;  he  will  not  protect  his  children. 
The  pale  face  lies.  He  teaches  the  redman  to  spare  the  blood 
of  his  victim,  but  drinks  it  himself  into  his  belly.  Go,  boy, 
Hy  from  the  footsteps  of  the  pale  face  and  worship  the  Mani- 
tou  of  the  redman.     The  pale  face  is  false.' 

"  This  boy  returned  with  Abraham  to  Sandusky,  where  ho 
grew  up  a  Wyandot  chief,  and  where  his  posterity  remained 
till  within  a  few  years,  when  the  Wyandots  were  removed  by 
Congress  to  a  place  Avest  of  the  Mississippi."  ''" 

So  far  as  Isaac  Walker  is  concerned,  all  that  is  not  pure  fic- 
tion in  this  account  is,  the  fact  of  his  capture  by  the  Wyan- 
dots, when  a  boy,  his  being  adopted  into  their  tribe,  and  his 
descendants  going  West,  when  the  Wyandots  left  the  San- 
dusky. 

"  The  small  parties  that  I  served  out  ammunition  to,  the  1st 
of  March  last,"  wrote  Simon  Girty  from  Lower  Sandusky  to 
DePeyster,  on  the  12th  of  April,  "  are  all  returned  except  one 
party.  They  have  brought  in  fourteen  men's  scalps  and  four 
men  prisoners ;  so  that  there  have  neither  woman  or  child 
suffered  this  time.  There  is  one  Indian  killed  and  three 
wounded.  I  shall  leave  this  place  to-morrow  morning  and 
proceed  to  Upper  Sandusky.  I  take  with  me  one  hundred 
pounds  powder  and  two  hundred  pounds  of  ball  and  eight 
dozen  of  knives,  for  the  use  of  the  Wyandots,  Monseys  and 

*  C.  S.  Cofflnberry,  in  the  Monthly  Literary  Miscellany,  of  September, 
1851,  pp.  386-394. 


160         •  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Delawares.  I  was  obliged  to  pui'cliase  some  little  necessaries 
from  Mr.  Arundel  [the  trader]  that  were  not  in  the  king's 
store,  which  I  hope  you  will  be  good  enough  to  excuse,  as  I 
did  it  for  the  good  of  the  service.  I  should  be  very  much 
obliged  to  you  if  you  would  be  kind  enough  to  order  me  out 
some  few  stores,  tliat  I  may  have  it  in  my  power  to  give  a 
little  to  some  Indians  that  I  know  to  be  deserving."  * 

It  is  thus  seen  that  Girty  among  the  Wyandots  was  not,  as 
some  have  supposed,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  an  Indian  of 
that  tribe — roaming  lawlessly  about,  with  no  aim,  when  not  on 
the  Avar-path,  but  to  pass  his  time  in  dancing,  feasting,  and 
drinking.  On  the  contrary,  although  only  paid  as  an  inter- 
preter, he  was  frequently,  attending  to  the  king's  business 
upon  the  Sandusky  for  the  Detroit  commandant,  as  though  he 
had  been  actually  a  sub-ogent  of  the  British  Indian  Depart- 
ment. 

At  Detroit,  Major  DePeyster  had  been  busy,  during  the 
winter,  in  concerting  measures  for  the  Indians  and  British  to 
attack  Fort  Pitt,  so  soon  as  the  weather  in  the  spring  would 
allow  ;  but,  in  February,  two  deserters  arrived  at  the  Shuwa- 
nese  towns  upon  the  Mad  river  from  General  Clark  at  Louis- 
ville, giving  the  information  that  Fort  Pitt  was  put  into  such 
a  state  of  defense  as  would  render  the  reductica  of  it  uncer- 
tain ;  but  that  the  fortification  at  Louisville  was  weak  and 
cculd  easily  be  taken. 

However,  just  at  this  time,  alarming  intelligence  came  from 
the  East,  sent  to  Detroit  by  Simon  Girty,  inducing  an  imme- 
diate concentration  of  every  available  force  upon  the  San- 
dusky, to  be  prepared  to  act  on  the  defensive. 

Many  schemes  had  been  advocaUd — many  plans  had  been 
laid — in  the  border  settlements  and  at  Fort  Pitt  against 
the  Wyandots ;  as  it  was  well  known  their  towns  and  those 
of  their   neighbors   were   the   prolific   hives    of  mischief  to 


*  MS.  lettor,  already  cited.  The  words,  "so  'hat  there  have  neither 
woman  or  child  suffered  this  time,"  tell  but  too  pli.itily  n  tale  of  woe — a  hor- 
rible title  of  thousands  of  innocent  victims  that  ■■lad  "suffered"  by  savages 
as  did  the  Indian  worrien  and  children  at  Gnadenhiitten  by  white  men. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  161 

the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  As  yet,  the  ex- 
peditions that  had  actually  marched  to  attack  them  were,  first, 
the  abortive  one  under  General  Mcintosh,  who,  had  he  con- 
tinued against  Detroit,  would  have  .assailed  the  enemy  upon 
the  Sandusky  on  his  way  thither ;  and,  second,  that  of  Brig- 
adier-General Clark,  in  1781,  who,  had  he  been  able  to 
have  marched  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  would  have  struck 
the  Wyandots  and  their  allies  on  his  way  also  to  Detroit.  It 
was  finally  determined  (the  consent  of  General  Irvine  having 
first  been  obtained)  to  organize  a  volunteer  force  and  assail 
these  savages  in  their  homes;  for  their  aggressions  had  be- 
come wholly  unendurable  to  the  bordermen.  Prominent  citi- 
zens of  Westmoreland  and  Washington  counties,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  of  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  engaged  actively  in  re- 
cruiting and  in  otherwise  aiding  the  undertaking. 

Of  the  volunteers  who  went  upon  the  campaign,  about  twd 
thirds  were  from  Washington  count}' ;  the  residue,  except  a 
few  from  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  were  from  Westmoreland. 
The  final  rendezvous  was  at  the  Ivlingo  Bottom,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Ohio  river,  where,  on  the  twenty  fourth  day  of 
May,  four  hundred  and  eighty  finally  congregated.  General 
Irvine  materially  helped  along  the  movement  by  furnishing 
some  supplies  of  ammunition  and  flints,  and  by  sending  his 
aid  (John  Rose)  and  an  assistant  surgeon  of  his  garrison  (Dr. 
John  Knight)  to  accompany  the  expedition. 

The  whole  force,  with  Colonel  William  Crawford,  of  West- 
moreland county,  Pennsylvania  (an  officer  of  the  Cantinental 
army),  as  their  leader,  began  their  march,  on  the  25th  of  May, 
for  Upper  Sandusky.*     All  were  mounted.     But,  previous  to 


*  Itoosevelt,  in  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  lo9,  says:  "Colonel 
Williiiin  CrH\vt\)rJ  whs  h  fiiirly  good  officer,  a  jusl  and  upright  man,  but 
with  no  gpeeial  fitness  for  such  a  task  as  that  he  had  iindertiii;en."  To  say 
that  Colonel  Crawford  was  "a  fairly  good  officer, "  is  "damning  with  faint 
praise."  General  Joseph  Keed  declared  him  a  "  very  good  officer,"  and 
Washington  said  he  was  "  brave  and  active."  And  it  is  positively  and  par- 
ticularly wrong  to  assert  that  ho  had  "no  special  fitness  for  such  u  task  as 
that  he  had  undertaken."  - 

u 


162  History  of  the  Girtys. 

giving  further  particulars  of  their  march,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary, to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  part  taken  by  Simon 
and  George  Girty  oa  the  side  of  the  Indians  before  the  Amer- 
icans reached  the  Sandusky,  to  follow  up  the  chain  of  events 
in  the  Sandusky  country  and  at  Detroit,  from  the  time  knowl- 
edge of  the  movement  first  reached  there  until  all  measures 
had  been  perfected  for  as  complete  a  defense  as  possible. 

The  fear  of  an  expedition  under  command  of  General  Ir- 
vine from  Fort  Pitt  against  Detroit,  kept  DePeyster,  at  the 
post  last  mentioned,  fully  awake  for  early  information,  should 
such  an  enterprise  be  undertaken  by  the  former.  From  John 
Stephenson,  the  prisoner  taken  by  Gif  ty  in  his  raid  across  the 
Ohio,  information  was  gained  of  an  expedition  on  foot  against 
Upper  Sandusky ;  and  the  latter,  upon  his  return  to  Lower 
Sandusky,  sent  the  intelligence  to  DePe}ster.*  However, 
the  intended  campaign  was  given  up  almost  a?  soon  as  formed ; 
but  another  was  afterward  set  on  foot,  the  one  before  noted  as 
being  under  command  of  Colonel  Crawford ;  which  fact  soon 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Wyandots,  who  sent  to  the  De- 
troit commandant  an  urgent  request  for  help,  DePeyster  at 
once  responded  to  the  appeal  by  getting  ready  a  vessel  (the 
"  Faith  ")  to  convey  Rangers  to  the  Sandusky  river. f  Girty 
was  with  the  Half  King  when  the  account  reached  the  Wyan- 
dots of  the  actual  marching  of  Crawford ;  and  he  exerted  him- 
self to  the  utmost  in  aiding  that  chief  to  call  in  all  the  absent 
warriors  and  hunters  of  the  nation.  The  Delawares  at  Win- 
genund's  camp,  near  what  is  now  Crestline,  Ohio  ;  those  on  the 
Tymochtee,  at  Pipe's  town  ;  and  such  as  Avere  in  their  villages, 
to  the  southward ; — all  were  quickly  notified  of  the  i\npending 
danger.  Runners  were  also  sent  to  the  Mingoes  and  Shawa- 
nese  with  the  intelligence  that  the  Wyandots  were  to  be  as- 
sailed ;  for  this  fact  was  immediately  made  evident  to  the  Indians 
who  were  watching  the  movements  of  the  Americans  at  the 
Mingo  Bottom,  when  the  direction  taken  by  the  latter  was  ob- 
served as  they  took  up  their  line  of  march  from  the  Ohio. 

•  Girty  to  DePeyster. — MS.  letter  of  April  12th,  already  frequently  cited, 
t  DePeyster  to  Powell,  May  10,  1782. — MS.  letter,  llaUimand  Papers. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  163 

DePeyster  lost  no  time  in  dispatching  Rangers  and  some 
"  Lake  Indians  "  to  the  help  of  the  Wyandots.  The  former  were 
a  company  commanded  hy  Captain  William  Caldwell.*  Cross- 
ing Lake  Erie  to  Lower  Sandusky,  they  began  their  march  up 
the  Sandusky  river,  making  all  possible  haste  to  succor  their 
Indian  allies.  The  Rangers  had  with  them  two  field-pieces,  and 
a  mortar,  which,  however,  they  were  coii.pelled  to  leave  for  a 
detachment  to  bring  forward  as  best  they  could,  while  the  main 
force  was  urged  on  to  Upper  Sandusky,  where  they  arrived 
"just  in  time  of  need,"  meeting  there  a  wild  assemblage  of 
whooping  and  stamping  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  and  some 
Mingoes.  Adding  to  the  foregoing  the  "  Lake  Indians,"  and 
the  whole  Indian  force  numbered  not  less  than  two  hundred. 
These,  with  the  white  troops,  were  gathered  at  the  Half  King's 
town,  on  the  4th  of  June,  to  give  battle  to  Crawford's  advanc- 
ing army.  In  command  of  the  entire  army  was  Captain 
Caldwell.  Under  him,  to  direct  the  movements  of  the  Indians, 
was  Captain  Elliott.  Dunquat  had  the  immediate  command 
of  the  Wyandots;  Captain  Pipe,  of  the  Delawares.  With  the 
latter  was  George  Girty ;  with  the  former,  Simon  Girty. 

Note  I. — No  one  of  the  prominent  events  occurring  in  the 
West  during  the  Revolution  has  been  written  about  with  so 
much  ignorance  of  the  facts  as  Williamson's  expedition  to  the 
Tuscarawas,  which  resulted,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  killing  of 
ninety  "  Moravian  "  Indians  and  six  "  British  Indians,"  pris- 
oners—  men,  women,  and  children.  Nearly  all  published  ac- 
counts from  Doddridge  (Notes  on  the  Settlement  and  Indian 

•  Washington-Irv/iic  Correspondence,  pp.  122,  127,  305,  308,  370,  371,  378. 
None  of  tlio  ofScers  or  interpreters  (or  other  employes)  of  the  British  In- 
dian Departmental  Detroit  were  Hangers.  Nor  were  any  French-Canadian 
partisans,  American  prisoners,  or  loyalists,  unless  regularly  enlisted  in  one 
of  the  companies  of  "  Butler's  ltaiii:;er8,"'  a.-  the  whole  were  usually  desig- 
nated, although  they  were  sometimes  spoKen  of  simply  as  "  the  Corps  of 
Rangers"  (see  DePeyster's  Miscellanies,  pp.  247,  261).  Caldwell  was  not, 
as  Uoosevelt  asserts,  an  Englishman.  He  was  born  in  Ireland.  At  the 
commencement  of  tbo  Revolution,  he  lived  in  Pennsylvania.  Ho  was  a 
"  refugee  loyalist.' 


164  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Wars  of  the  Western  Parts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  etc.) 
to  Roose^  I'lt  (The  Winning  of  the  West),  contain  many  errors. 
Among  the  Moravian  writers,  there  is  nothing  lacking  in  col- 
oring or  in  misstatements;  and,^with  some  of  them,  there  is 
downright  falsification. 

As  neither  of  the  Girtys  was  directly  or  remotely  (except 
in  foolish  traditions)  connected  with  the  expedition,  a  more 
extended  account  than  that  which  is  found  in  this  chapter 
could  not  be  indulged  in  ;  and  even  this  has  only  been  given 
because  it  paves  the  way  for  introducing  other  events  in  which 
they  were  actors  of  more  or  less  importance. 

Note  If. — The  letter  of  Simon  Girty  to  DePeyster,  of  April 
12,  1782,  from  which  several  extracts  have  heretofore  been 
given,  was  as  follows  : 

"  [Lower]  Sandusky,  April  12,  1782. 

"Sir:  —I  left  Upper  Sandusky  as  early  as  the  17th  of 
March  in  company  with  the  Half  King's  son  and  eight  others ; 
but,  as  to  the  place  I  intended  to  go,  I  found  it  impracticable, 
for  the  Virginians  were  too  thick  scouting  in  that  quarter, 
which  rendered  my  design  abortive ;  and  the  paper  that  you 
gave  me,  I  had  no  opportunity  of  delivering  to  them  that  I 
wanted  to  see.  I  was  obliged  to  go  another  way  and  make  a 
stroke,  and  push  off  ad  fast  as  possible.  We  killed  one  sol- 
dier and  took  one  man  prisoner,  and  arrived  at  Upper  San- 
dusky the  8th  of  April.  The  said  prisoner  informed  me  that 
General  Irvine  had  returned  from  the  Congress  to  Fort  Pitt ; 
that  he  had  been  down  for  two  battalions  of  troops;  but 
whether  he  had  obtained  them  or  not,  he  could  not  tell.  He 
further  says  on  his  [Irvine's]  arrival  at  Fort  Pitt,  he  had 
called  all  Jie  militia  officers  together  and  likewise  the  regular 
captains  to  a  council  of  war,  and  that  it  was  determined  to 
start  in  a  few  days  on  a  small  campaign,  their  number  to  con- 
sist of  about  500  foot  and  300  horse ;  that  they  intended  to 
go  to  Sandusky — and  are  to  march  from  Fort  Mcintosh. 

"The  'Moravians'  that  went  from  U;ier  Sandusky  this 
spriug  to  fetch  their  corn  from  their  towns  where  they  lived  last 


History  of  the  Girtys.  165 

summer,  arc  all  killed  by  the  Virginia  militia ;  the  number  of 
(lead  amounts  to  ninety-six  men,  women,  and  children.  There 
is  a  Delaware  man  arrived,  that  has  been  some  time  confined 
at  Fort  Pitt.  He  made  his  escape,  and  informs  that  all  the 
Delawares  that  lived  there  as  friends  to  the  Americans  are 
killed  by  the  Virginians — and  as  to  the  other  news  from  that 
quarter,  it  is  just  the  same  as  given  by  the  prisoner  that  I 
brought  in. 

"  The  small  parties  that  I  served  out  ammunition  to,  the  1st 
of  March  last,  are  all  returned,  except  one  party.  They  have 
brought  in  fourteen  men's  scalps,  and  four  men  prisoners ;  so 
that  tlicre  have  neither  Avoman  nor  child  suffered  this  time. 
There  is  one  Indian  killed  and  three  wounded.  I  shall  leave 
this  place  to-morrow  morning,  and  proceed  to  Upper  San- 
dusky. I  take  with  me  one  hundred  pounds  of  powder  and 
two  hundred  pounds  of  ball,  and  eight  dozen  of  knives  for  the 
use  of  the  Wyandots,  Monseys,  and  Delawares.  I  was  obliged 
to  purchase  some  little  necessaries,  from  Mr.  Arundell,  that 
wore  not  in  the  King's  store,  Avhich  I  hcie  you  will  be  good 
enough  to  excuse,  as  I  did  it  for  the  good  of  the  service.  I 
should  be  very  much  obliged  to  you,  if  you  would  be  kind 
enough  to  order  me  out  some  few  stores,  that  I  may  have  it 
in  my  power  to  give  a  little  to  some  Indians  that  I  know  to 
be  deserving. 

"These  are  the  particulars  the  prisoner  gave.  As  to  what 
Mr.  Arundell  or  Levellee  [Le  Villier]  has  sent  in,  I  know 
nothing ;  for  what  information  they  had  was  from  an  Indian. 
I  have  nothing  more  particular  to  acquaint  you  with. 

"  I  remain,  with  much  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant,  "  Simon  Girty. 

"  Major  DePkyster." 

Note  III.—"  On  the  forenoon  of  the  4th  day  of  June  [1782], 
there  were  [before  the  arrival  of  the  Rangers]  but  few  white 
men  in  the  wild  assemblage  of  whooping  and  stamping  Dela- 
wares and  Wyandots  at  their  rendezvous.  But  of  these  few 
was  one  deserving  particular  notice.     He  was  dressed  as  an 


166  .History  of  the  Girtys. 

Indian,  but  without  ornaments.  He  seemed,  as  he  really  was, 
the  very  incarnation  of  fierceness  and  cruelty.  Ilis  name 
was  Simon  Giuty.  His  voice  rose  high  above  the  din  and 
tumult  around.  He  spoke  the  Delaware  and  Wyandot  lan- 
guages fluently.  As  he  rode  furiously  back  and  forth,  he 
volleyed  forth  fearful  oaths  in  his  native  tongue."  This, 
principally  upon  the  authority  of  William  Walker,  was  given 
to  the  public  as  fact  in  1873,  in  An  Historical  Account  of 
the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  under  Col.  William  Craw- 
ford, in  1782,"  p.  182.  But,  I  am  now  satisfied  that,  so  far 
as  the  statement  relates  to  Girty,  it  is,  in  the  main,  pure  fiction. 

Note  IV. — That  Williamson's  men  at  Gnadenhiitten  first 
intended  to  take  their  prisoners  to  Fort  Pitt  and  deliver  them 
to  General  Irvine,  and  that  they  so  informed  the  captives, 
there  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt;  but  the  Moravian  writers, 
with  the  full  knowledge  of  this  in  the  relation  of  one  of  their 
church  members,  made  public  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania, 
soon  after  the  expedition  to  the  Tuscarawas,  make  no  mention 
of  the  fact.  The  reason  is  evident.  It  proves  that,  up  to 
that  moment,  the  militia  intended  no  harm  to  the  "  Moravian  " 
Indians ;  that  what  was  aftorivard  discovered  was  the  cause  of 
their  putting  them  to  death.  One  of  the  "  Moravians,"  it  is 
true,  was  shot  when  the  Americans  first  approached  the  town ; 
but  this  was  when  the  assailants  supposed  they  were  attacking 
"  British  Indians  "  only.  (Compare,  in  this  connection,  the 
Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  237,  238.) 


t 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  167 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

On  the  fourth  of  June,  Crawford  and  his  army  reached  a 
point  a  short  dist.ance  north  of  what  is  now  Upper  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  where  the  enemy  was  encountered  and  a  battle  com- 
menced between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  which 
ended  at  sundown  Avith  the  advantage  on  the  side  of  the 
Americans.  The  firing  wholly  ceased  as  the  daylight  disap- 
peared. The  enemy  had  five  killed  and  eleven  wounded  ;  the 
Americans,  five  killed  and  nineteen  wounded.  Captain  Cald- 
well was  among  the  wounded,  and  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
field  at  the  beginning  of  the  action.*  Captain  Henry  Iloag- 
land,  of  the  Americans,  Avas  shot  and  instantly  killed ;  and 
Captains  James  Munn  and  Ezekiel  Ross  were  wounded  ;  both, 
however,  recovered.  Major  James  Brenton  was  also  slightly 
wounded.  John  Rose  and  John  Gunsaulus  were  the  undoubted 
heroes  of  the  conflict  on  the  side  of  the  borderers ;  while 
Captain  Elliott  and  Lieutenant  Clinch,  the  latter  of  the  Rangers, 
"  in  particular,  signalized  themselves,"  on  the  British  and  In- 
dian side.f  The  fighting  was  in  and  around  a  grove  afterward 
well  known  as  "  Battle  Island,"  three  miles  north  and  a  half 
mile  east  of  the  present  Upper  Sandusky,  and  about  two  miles 
south-westerly  of  the  Upper  Sandusky  of  1782,  or  the  Half 
King's  town,  in  what  is  now  Crane  township,  Wyandot  county, 
Ohio. 

It  is  a  well  authenticated  tradition  that  George  Girty  be- 
ha\  ad  well  upon  the  battle-field  ;  that  he  pxhibited  consider- 

'*  Lieutenant  John  Tiirney  to  PuPeystor,  from  Upper  Siindusky,  June  7, 
and  Captain  Ciiidwell  to  same,  Juno  11,  1782. — Washiiijiion-Irvino  Cor- 
respondence, pp.  368,  309. 

t  "  Too  much  can  not  bo  said  in  praise  of  the  officers  and  men  and  the  In- 
dians. No  people  could  behave  better.  Captain  [^Matthew]  Elliott  and 
Lieutenant  Clinch  in  particular  signalized  themselves." — Turney  to  DePey- 
ster,  Juno  7,  1782,  before  cited. 


168  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

able  bravery  and  was  active  in  encouraging  his  redskin  com- 
panions to  greater  exertions ;  but  as  to  the  part  taken  by 
Simon  Girty,  there  is  no  mention  ;  none  in  all  the  British 
and  Indian  official  correspondence ;  and  even  tradition  itself 
(as  coming  from  the  side  of  the  enemy)  is  utterly  silent  as  to 
him.  It  was  very  different  among  the  Americans.  A  large 
number  saw  him,  as  they  verily  believed.  Some  thought  they 
heard  his  commands  given  in  the  Indian  tongue  and  recog- 
nized who  was  giving  orders.  Francis  Dunlavy,  Avho  was 
present,  afterward  declared,  unhesitatingly,  that  several  times 
during  the  conflict  his  voice  fell  upon  lis  ears.  Philip  Smith, 
too,  not  only  heard  him,  but  more  than  once  saw  and  recog- 
nized him — beyond  gunshot,  however,  each  time.  He  declared 
that  Girty  rode  a  white  horse;  appropriately — "death  on  a 
pale  horse."  Both  Dunlavy  and  Smith  had  previously  known 
him  ;  nevertheless,  both  were,  evidently,  mistaken  in  their 
man.  It  was  the  general  belief  that  he  commanded  the  entire 
force  ;  yet  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  he  had  no  com- 
mand whatever  during  the  battle. 

That  the  volunteers  could  have  been  so  easily  and  so  gener- 
ally deceived  is  by  no  means  surprising.  The  fighting  was 
done  in  the  tall  grass  of  the  Plains  and  the  borderers  had  no 
idea  they  were  combatting  besides  a  large  force  of  Indians, 
a  considerable  number  of  white  men.  It  was  their  belief  that, 
except  a  few  renegades,  they  had  savages  exclusively  to  deal 
with.  All  knew  that  Simon  Girty  was  making  his  home  among 
the  Wyandots — to  all  his  name  was  a  familiar  one.  Therefore 
it  was  that,  whenever  words  were  heard  that  seemed  like  those 
of  a  white  man,  the  volunteers  at  once  imagined  them  as  the 
commands  of  Girty  to  his  savages.  Captain  Elliott,  as  al- 
ready noted,  was  conspicuous  and  active  in  his  movements 
during  the  battle,  and  he  It  was,  doubtless,  who  was  frequently 
mistaken  for  Girty.* 

*  The  statement  in  An  Historical  Account  of  tiie  JCxpedition  against 
Sandusky  (p.  208),  as  to  Simon  Girty  being  frequently  seen  and  lieard,  was 
given  upon  what  seemed  to  be  wholly  reliable  evidence,  but  which  has 
since  been  discovered  to  be  error. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  169 

During  the  night  after  the  .battle,  both  parties  hiy  on  tlicir 
arms,  each  adopting  the  plan  of  building  large  fires  along  their 
lines  and  then  retiring  some  distance,  to  prevent  being  sur- 
prised. Daylight  the  next  morning  brought  with  it  no  change 
in  the  relative  position  of  the  belligerents.  Soon,  however,  the 
firing  was  renewed  between  the  contending  parties,  but  in  a  de- 
sultory manner  and  at  long  shot  only.  Crawford  would  gladly 
have  attacked  the  foe  at  early  dawn,  but  there  were  obstacles 
in  the  Avay ;  several  of  his  men  were  sick  and  a  number 
wounded.  After  nightfall  a  general  attack  was  to  be  made. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  an  event  transpired  which  changed  the 
aspect  of  affairs ;  this  was  the  arrival  of  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  forty  Shawanese  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Snake  as  a  reinforcement  to  the  enetny.  With  them  came  Cap- 
tain McKee  and  James  Girty  from  Wapatomica.  Then  it  was 
that  the  Americans  discovered,  for  the  first  time,  the  presence  of 
the  Hangers,  whom  they  supposed  had  also  just  arrived  as  suc- 
cors to  the  enemy.  Crawford  concluded,  therefore,  that  the 
contemplated  attack  had  better  be  abandoned,  and  that  a  de- 
fensive policy  would  have  to  be  adopted.  A  council  of  war 
was  called  and  a  retreat  that  night  resolved  upon.  This  was 
effected,  but  not  without  considerable  confusion,  as  might  be 
expected,  and  some  loss  in  killed  and  captured. 

Much  fiction  has  found  its  way  into  print  concerning  an 
alleged  interview  between  Colonel  Crawford  and  Simon  Girty 
during  the  5th  of  June — the  day  after  the  battle.  The  ac- 
count which  has,  probably,  received  the  most  credence,  but 
which  is  wholly  without  foundation  in  fact,  is  the  following 
Wyandot  Indian  tradition : 

"The  story  respecting  the  battle  is,  that  if  Crawford  had 
rushed  on  when  he  first  came  amongst  the  Indians,  they  would 
have  given  way  and  made  but  little  or  no  fight ;  but  they  had 
a  talk  with  him  three  days  previous  to  the  fight,  and  asked 
him  to  give  them  three  days  to  collect  in  their  chiefs  and  head 
men  of  the  different  tribes,  and  they  would  then  make  a  treaty 
of  peace  with  them.  The  three  days  were  therefore  given; 
and  during  that  time  all  their  forces  gathered  together  that 


170  History  of  (he  Oirlys. 

could  bo  raised  as  fighting  men,  and  the  next  morning  Craw- 
ford was  attacked,  some  two  or  three  miles  north  of  the  island 
where  the  main  battle  was  fought. 

"  The  Indians  then  gave  back  iu  a  south  direction  until  they 
got  into  an  island  of  timber  ["Battle  Island"],  which  suited 
their  purpose,  which  was  in  a  large  plain,  now  well  known  as 
Sandusky  IMains.  There  the  battle  continued  until  night.  The 
Indians  then  ceased  firing;  and,  it  is  said,  immediately  after- 
wards a  man  came  near  to  the  army  with  a  white  flag.  Colonel 
Crawford  sent  an  officer  to  meet  him.  The  man  said  he  wanted 
to  talk  with  Colonel  Crawford,  and  that  he  did  not  want  Craw- 
ford to  come  nearer  to  him  than  twenty  steps,  as  he  (Girty) 
wanted  to  converse  with  Crawford,  and  might  be  of  vast 
benefit  to  him. 

"  Crawford  accordingly  went  out  as  requested.  Girty  then 
said,  '  Colonel  Crawford,  do  you  know  me  ?'  The  answer  was, 
'  I  soem  to  have  some  recollection  of  your  voice,  but  your  In- 
dian dress  deprives  me  of  knowing  you  as  an  acquaintance.' 
The  answer  was  then,  '  My  name  is  Simon  Girty ;'  and  after 
some  more  conversation  between  them,  they  knew  each  other 
well. 

"  Girty  said,  '  Crawford,  my  object  in  calling  you  here  is  to 
say  to  you,  that  the  Indians  have  ceased  firing  until  to-morrow 
morning,  when  they  intend  to  commence  the  fight ;  and  as 
they  are  three  times  as  strong  as  you  are,  they  will  be  able  to 
cut  you  all  off.  To-night  the  Indians  will  surround  your 
army,  and  when  that  arrangement  is  fully  made,  you  will  hear 
some  guns  fire  all  around  tht  ring.  But  there  is  a  large 
swamp  or  very  wet  piece  of  ground  on  the  east  side  of  you, 
where  there  Avill  be  a  vacancy :  that  gap  you  can  learn  by  th<) 
firing ;  and  in  the  night  you  had  bettor  march  your  men 
through  and  make  your  escape  in  an  east  direction.' 

"  Crawford  accordingly  in  the  night  drew  up  his  men  and 
told  them  his  intention.  The  men  generally  assenting,  he 
then  commenced  his  march  east ;  but  the  men  soon  got  into 
confusion  and  lost  their  course."  * 

*  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  II,  pp.  283,  284.    Joseph  McCutchen,  who  fur- 


History  of  the  Girtys.  171 

At  (laylircak,  on  the  morning  of  the  0th  of  June,  about 
thi\'e  hundred  of  the  Americans,  in  retreating,  had  reached 
what  had  fortnorly  been  Upper  Sandusky  (south  of  the  present 
town  of  that  name,  but  on  the  cast  side  of  the  river),  across  the 
site  of  which  the  army  had  passed  «n  its  inward  march.  It 
was  then  discovered  that  Coh)nel  Crawford,  Major  McClclhmd, 
Captain  Biggs,  Dr.  Knight,  und  John  Slover  were  among  the 
missing.  McClelland  was  reported  killed.  The  enemy  had 
not  been  very  eager  in  the  pursuit,  or  the  loss  would,  doubt- 
less, have  been  much  greater.  The  command  of  the  army 
now  devolved  upon  Colonel  David  Williamson.  He  was  pow- 
erfully assisted  by  the  gallant  John  Rose,  who  at  once  prof- 
fered his  services  as  aid,  which  were  gladly  accepted. 

Not  long  after  the  army  had  resumed  its  march,  it  was 
seen  that  the  enemy  were  in  pursuit.  A  considerable  body  of 
Indians  and  some  Rangers  were  at  lenrfth  visible  in  the  rear. 
So  hard  was  the  retreating  party  pressed,  that,  at  two  o'clock, 
when  the  eastern  verge  of  the  Plains  was  not  far  ahead  and 
the  woodland  had  almost  been  reached,  a  halt  was  called,  and 
a  general  resistance  determined  upon  by  Williamson,  to  give 
his  light  horse  at  the  same  time  a  chance  to  secure  the  en- 
trance to  the  woods.  Although  the  enemy  attacked  on  the 
front,  left  flank,  and  rear  at  the  same  moment,  they  soon  gave 
way  in  every  direction,  so  well  directed  was  the  fire  of  the 
Americans.  Williamson  lost  three  killed  and  eight  wounded. 
Among  the  latter  was  Captain  Bane,  who  was  shot  through 
the  body,  but  recovered.  The  enemy  soon  rallied  their  scat- 
tered forces  in  the  open  counti'y  and  renewed  the  pursuit ; 
but  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh  they  were  seen  for  the  last 
time,  and  Williamson's  march  to  the  Ohio  was  not  again  inter- 
rupted. He  recrossed  the  river  on  the  thirteenth,  and  the 
next  day  the  ai'my  Avas  disbanded,  it  having  received  consid- 
erable accessions  from  straggling  parties  on  its  homeward 
march.* 

nished  this  tradition  for  pubMoation,  assured  the  writer  of  this  narrative, 
years  after,  that  ho  was  satis -^ed  of  its  being  wholly  fictitious. 
•  According  to  Roosevelt,  the  campaign  against  Sandusky  "  was  badly 


172  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Colonel  Crawford  became  separated  from  his  men  just  as 
the  retreat  commenced,  on  the  evening  of  June  5th ;  and, 
witi,  a  few  others,  including  Dr.  Knight,  made  his  way  east- 
ward, when,  after  striking  the  trail  of  the  army,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  seventh,  at  a  "point  just  east  of  the  present  Lees- 
ville,  in  what  is  now  Jefferson  toAvnship,  Crawford  county, 
Ohio,  he  was  captured  by  a  party  of  Delawares,  and  most  of 
those  with  him.  The  camp  of  Wingenund,  a  war-chief  of  the 
Delawares,  was  near  by ;  there  the  captured  were  taken,  and 
there  kept  until  the  tenth,  when,  early  in  the  morning,  they 
all  started,  strongly  guarded,  tor  Upper  Sandusky  Old  Town. 
Colonel  Crawford  had  been  told  that  Simon  Girty,  with  whom 
he  was  acquainted,*  was  at  the  Half  King's  town  ;  and  he 
had  hopes,  could  he  meet  him,  that  an  appeal  to  him  might 
save  his  life.  He  therefore  made  a  request  of  his  captors 
that  they  would  take  him  to  the  home  of  the  Half  King. 
This  was  agreed  to,  especially  as,  in  so  doing,  two  horses  that 
had  been  left  by  Crawford's  party,  while  retreating  on  the 
same  route,  were  to  be  hunted  for.  The  colonel,  guarded  by 
two  Delawares,  reached  the  Wyandot  village — the  Half  King's 
town — some  time  during  the  night,  and  had  an  interview  with 
Girty. 

Girty  told  Crawford  that  William  Harrison,  the  colonel's 
son-in-law,  and  William  Crawford,  his  nephew  (both  of  whom 

conducted  from  beginning  to  end,  and  reflected  discredit  on  most  who  took 
part  in  it;  Crawford  did  ponrij',  and  the  bulk  of  his  men  acted  like  unruly 
cowards."  This  whole  statement  is  tar  removed  from  the  fact.  See,  in  this 
connection,  the  Official  lleport  of  John  Kose,  printed  in  the  Washington- 
Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  307-378. 

*  In  An  Hiftorical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky  under 
Col.  William  Crawford,  in  1782  (p.  184),  it  ia  said:  '•  Ho  [Simon  Girty]  was 
frequentlj'  the  i^uest  at  Crawford's  hospitable  cabin  on  the  banks  of  the 
Youghiogheny."  That  Girty  and  Crawford  were  well  acquainted  is  true; 
but  that  the  former  was  a  frequent  guest  of  the  latter  is  probably  erroneous. 
The  tradition,  too,  that  Girty  aspired  to  the  hand  of  one  of  Crawford's 
daughters,  but  was  denied,  it  is  altogether  certain  has  no  foundation  in  fact. 
Crawford  had  frequently  met  him  at  Pittsburgh,  and,  it  will  bo  remembered, 
both  were  participants  in  Lord  Dunraore's  War,  in  the  same  divisioD  of  the 
army. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  173 

came  out  with  the  army,  and  had  been  missing  since  the  night 
of  the  retreat  from  the  battle-field,  on  the  sixth),  were  capt- 
ured by  the  Shawanese,  but  had  been  pardoned  and  their  lives 
spared  at  their  towns.  This  information  was  true  as  to  their 
having  been  taken  prisoners,  but  false  as  to  their  capture  by 
the  Shawanese,  for  they  had  been  taken  by  the  Delawares ; 
also  false  as  to  their  lives  having  been  saved  :  they  had  been 
most  inhumanly  tortured  at  the  stake.  Girty  assured  Craw- 
ford that  he  would  do  all  he  could  for  him. 

Of  the  conversation  which  took  place  between  the  two,  noth- 
ing is  known  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  A  "  Moravian  " 
Indian  from  the  Tuscarawas,  who  understood  English,  was 
near  the  two,  it  has  been  told,  and  heard  what  was  said.  Ac- 
cording to  the  statement  of  this  Indian,  Colonel  Crawford 
offered  Girty  a  thousand  dollars  if  he  would  save  his  life. 
But  Girty  afterward  reported  that  the  Colonel  "  declared  he 
would  communicate  something  of  importance  if  his  life  could 
be  saved,  but  that  nothing  else  would  induce  him  to  do  it  — 
intimating  that  some  great  blows  would  be  struck  against  the 
country,"  *  Girty  did  noi  mention  any  thing  as  to  the  al- 
leged offer  of  a  thousand  dollars ;  it  is  certain,  therefore,  that 
it  was  not  made. 

Simon  Girty  must  have  known  of  Crawford's  capture  before 
the  arrival  of  the  latter  at  the  Half  King's  town,  as  a  letter 
written  by  Captain  Caldwell  to  DePeyster  from  lower  San- 
dusky .  the  eleventh  of  June,  says  that  "  amongst  the  pris- 
oners [are]  Colonel  Crawford  and  some  officers."  f  Now,  as 
the  colonel  did  not  reach  Upper  Sandusky  (the  Half  King's 
town)  until  some  time  in  the  night  of  the  tenth  of  that  month, 
it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Captaip  Caldwell,  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  got  the  news  of  his  being  a  prisoner  for  the 
first  time  on  the  eleventh.  It  is  quite  probable  that  word  of 
the  capture  of  the  ''Big  Captain"  reached  the  ears  of  Girty 
by  the  ninth,  if  not  the  day  previous.     Did  he  make  any  effort 

•  Cn.dwell  to  DePeyster,  June  13,  1782.— MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Col- 
lection. 

1"  Wasbington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  370,  371. 


174  History  of  the  Girtya. 

in  the  colonel's  behalf  before  the  two  h.  d  an  interview  during 
the  night  of  the  tenth  ?  There  is  not  tho  slightest  evidence 
(nor  is  there  any  tradition)  that  he  did.  0.1.'^  great  anxiety 
on  the  part  of  Girty  to  favor  "  his  friend  CrawK>rd,"  so  per- 
sistently paraded  by  himself  and  his  frii3nds  and  relatives  in 
after  years,  was  certainly  not  indicated  in  any  manner  before 
the  unfortunate  colonel  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  him  for 
help.     Did  that  indicate  a  friendly  interest  on  Girty's  part? 

But,  did  Simon  Girty,  after  his  interview  with  Crawford, 
make  on  effort  to  save  the  life  of  the  latter?  In  other  words, 
did  he  do  all  he  could  for  him,  as  he  had  promised?  There 
is  nothing  mentioned  about  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  any  of 
the  correspondence  extant  between  the  British  officers  there 
and  DePeyster — not  a  word  intimating  that  any  thing  was 
said  or  done  by  Girty  while  at  the  Half  King's  town  to  save 
the  life  of  his  "  friend."  Captain  Pipe,  head-chief  of  the 
Delawares,  was  there,  and  if  he  was  importuned  by  Girty  to 
spare  the  unfortunate  colonel,  certainly  DePeyster  was  kept 
in  ignorance  of  it  by  the  renegade.*  Now,  is  it  probable  that 
the  latter  would  have  kept  this  information  from  the  Detroit 
commander  when  he  learned  with  what  anxiety  that  officer 
inquired  into  the  affair  ?  Certainly  he  would  not.  Nor  does 
it  make  it  any  more  probable  that  Girty  fulfilled,  on  his  part, 
what  he  engaged  to  do,  by  his  asserting  strenaously,  in  after 
years,  that  he  did  all  he  could  with  Captain  Pipe  for  Craw- 
ford while  at  the  Half  King's  town  ;  for,'  coupled  with  his  sub- 
sequent declarations  to  that  effect,  were  others  which  have 
been  proven  to  be  false. 

Besides  these  statements  of  Girty,  others  have  been  pre- 
served, taken  from  the  lips  of  aged  persons  who,  in  previous 
years,  had  been  prisoners  among  the  Ohio  Indians,  and  were 
present,  as  they  claimed,  upon  the  Sandusky  (or  not  far  away) 
when  Crawford  was  captured,  all  purporting  to  give  certain 

•  It  is  said  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky 
(p.  194),  that  Girty's  influence,  at  this  period,  was  as  great  with  Captain  Pipe 
as  with  the  Half  King.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  He  was  never  on  intimate 
terms  with  the  Delaware  chief. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  175 

facts  showing  Girty's  determination  while  upon  the  Sandusky 
to  ransom,  if  possible,  his  "  friend."  But  all  these  tradition- 
ary accounts,  in  one  way  or  another,  impeach  themselves.  "  I 
have  often  heard,  my  mother-in-law  speak  of  Simon  Girty," 
says  an  aged  informant,  as  set  forth  in  a  published  article 
cited  already  many  times  in  these  pages.  "  She  both  saw 
and  heard  him  interceding  with  the  Indian  chief  for  the  life 
of  Colonel  Crawford  ;  and  he  oifered  the  chief  a  beautiful  horse 
whiih  he  had  with  him,  and  the  stock  of  goods  he  then  had 
on  hand,  if  he  would  release  him,  but  the  chief  said  '  No.  If 
you  were  to  stand  in  his  place  it  would  not  save  him.'  "  * 
Now,  it  is  well  known  that  Girty  was  not  a  trader — never  had 
any  goods  or  a  store  upon  the  Sandusky,  as  will  hereafter 
be  fully  explained ;  besides,  the  last  declaration,  as  coming 
from  the  Indian  chief,  is  a  gross  absurdity. 

Note. — The  reasons  why,  on  a  previous  page,  I  have  given 
as  probably  erroneous  the  tradition  that  Simon  Girty,  previ- 
ous to  his  flight  from  Pittsburgh,  had  often  enjoyed  the  hos- 
pitality of  Crawford,  are  (1)  the  distance  of  the  home  of  the 
latter  from  that  town ;  (2)  the  difference  in  the  standing  of 
the  two — in  their  habits  and  manners — Crawford  being  looked 
upon  as  one  of  "  the  first  gentlemen  in  the  West ;  "  and  (3) 
the  diverse  employments  they  were  engaged  in — one  a  farmer, 
surveyor,  ofiicer  in  the  American  army  latterly ;  the  other  an 
Indian  interpreter.  The  writer  in  the  Magazine  of  American 
History,  of  the  article  cited  in  the  preceding  note,  is  indebted 
to  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  San- 
dusky, for  the  tradition  concerning  the  aspiring  of  Girty  to 
the  hand  of  one  of  Crawford's  daughters,  but  he  has  added 
to  it  by  calling  it  a  "  romantic  attachment,"  and  changed  it 
somewhat,  by  referring  to  the  girl  as  if  she  was  the  only 
daughter  of  Crawford. 


'  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  266. 


176  Hidory  of  the  Qirtys. 


CHAPTER  XIX.  • 

When  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  June,  the  Delaware 
guard  left  Wingenund's  camp  having  in  charge  eleven  Amer- 
ican prisoners  (including  Colonel  Crawford  and  Dr.  Knifi;lit) 
to  go  to  the  Old  Town — the  former  Upper  Sandusky — twenty- 
five  miles  distant,  it  was  not  long  before  Crawford  was  sepa- 
rated from  his  companions  to  go  to  the  Half  King's  town  to 
see  Simon  Girty,  as  before  related.  It  was  late  in  the  after- 
noon before  the  others  reached  their  destination.  Here  they 
■were  securely  guarded  during  the  night,  and  early  the  next 
morning  Captain  Pipe  and  Wingenund,  the  Delaware  war- 
chiefs,  came  up  the  Sandusky  river  from  the  Wyandot  village 
to  the  place  where  they  (the  captives)  had  staid  during  the 
night.  Captain  Pipe,  with  his  own  hands,  painted  the  faces 
of  all  the  prisoners  black.  As  he  was  painting  Dr.  Knight, 
he  told  him  (the  war-chief  spoke  very  good  English)  he  should 
go  to  the  Shawanese  towns  to  see  his  friends — an  implication 
that  other  American  prisoners  were  there  a  d  unharmed ;  but 
Knight  knew  very  well  the  meaning  of  the  work  engaged  in 
by  the  wily  savage — knew  but  too  well  if  he  saw  any  of  his 
friends  there  it  would  be  to  suffer  with  them  frightful  tortures 
at  the  stake. 

About  an  hour  after  the  Delaware  chiefs  reached  the  Old 
Town,  Crawford  also  arrived,  whither  he  had  beer  brought,  as 
he  had  been  told,  to  marcV  into  the  Half  King'3  village  with 
the  other  captives.  Capta  1  Pipe  and  W'ngenund,  who  had 
avoided  him  at  the  town  below,  now  ci  me  ibrward  and  greeted 
him  ;  he  was  personally  known  to  both.  They  had  frequently 
been  in  each  others  company.  The  colonel  had  met  Captain 
Pipe  at  Fort  Pitt  as  early  as  1759.  The  dissembling  war- 
chief  told  Crawford  he  was  glad  to  see  him,  and  that  he 
would  have  him   shaved — that  is,  adopted  by  the  Indians — 


Hhtory  of  the  Girfys.  177 


when  he  came  to  see  his  friends  (the  prisoners)  at  the  Half 
King's  town  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  painted  his  face  black. 

The  painting  the  faces  of  their  prisoners  black  by  the  Dela- 
ware's and  by  other  tribes,  was  their  doath-warrant.  These 
Indians  declared  that  tlio  de<'roo  was  prompted  by  the  killing 
of  the  "  Moravians ''  at  Gnadenliiitton.  Altliough  it  served 
as  an  excellent  excuse,^"  it'is  altogecher  probable  that,  without 
such  plea,  the  captives  would  still  have  been  put  to  death. 

The  whole  party  now  started  on  the  trail  leading  to  the 
Half  King's  town — the  Wyandot  village,  eight  miles  below, 
on  the  Sandusky  ;  but,  as  the  march  began,  Colonel  Crawford 
and  Dr.  Knight  were  kept  back  by  Captain  Pipe  and  Winge- 
nund.  They  were,  however,  soon  ordered  forward.  They  had 
not  traveled  far  before  they  saw  four  of  their  comrades  lying 
by  the  path  tomahawked  and  scalped. 

The  two  war-chiefs  guarded  well  the  colonel  and  Dr. 
Knight  to  the  spot,  the  site  of  the  present  Upper  Sandusky,  when 
another  trail  than  the  one  leading  to  tlie  Half  King's  town 
was  taken.  Their  course  Avas  now  to  the  north-west,  toward 
the  Delaware  village — Captain  Pipe's  town — oi.  the  Tymoch- 
tee.  At  the  Little  Tymochtee  creek,  the  five  captives  besides 
Colonel  Crawford  and  Dr.  Knight  who  yet  remained  alive 
were  overtaken.  The  prisoners  were  all  now  required  to  sit 
down  on  the  ground— Crawford  and  Knight  with  the  rest, 
but  at  some  distance  from  the  others.  The  doctor  was  then 
given  in  charge  of  one  of  the  Indians  to  be  taken  on  the  morrow 
to  the  Shawanese  towns.  At  the  place  where  they  had  halted, 
there  were  a  number  of  squaws  and  boys.  These  now  fell 
on  the  five  prisoners  and  tomahawked  them  all.  The  young 
Indians  came  frequently  up  to  the  colonel  and  Dr.  Knight 
and  slapped  them  in  their  faces  with  the  reeking  scalps. 

Again  the  march  began  when  they  were  soon  met  by  Simon 
Girty  and  several  Indians,  on  horseback.  The  former,  well 
knowing  what  was  to  be  the  fate  of  Crawford,  had  come  from 
the  Half  King's  town,  across  the  Plains  to  Pipe's  town,  to  be 

-     •  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  127. 

12 


178  History  of  the  Girtys. 

present  at  his  torture,  and  had  started  out  on  the  trail  iu  meet 
the  Delawares  with  their  prisoners.  Girty  rode  up  to  the 
colonel  and  spoke  to  him,  but  did  not  inform  him  that  he  was 
soon  to  suffer  at  the  stake.  Crawford  and  Knight  were  now 
separated — the  former  being  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  in  advance  of  the  latter.  As  they  moved  along,  almost 
every  Indian  the  prisoners  met,  struck  them  with  sticks  or 
their  fists.  Girty  waited  until  Knight  was  brought  up  and 
then  asked  if  that  was  the  doctor.  Knight  answered  him  in 
the  affirmative,  and  went  toward  him,  reaching  out  his  hand, 
but  the  renegade  bid  him  begone,  calling  him  a  damned 
rascal ;  upon  which  the  Indian  having  him  in  charge  pulled 
him  along.  Girty  rode  after  him  telling  him  he  "  was  to  go 
to  the  Shawanese  towns."  At  that  place  there  lived  about 
thirty  Delawares  ;  there,  he  was  to  be  burnt,  Girty  said,  "  to  give 
some  satisfaction  for  the  killing  of  the  '  Moravian  '  Indians."  * 
Surely,  in  this,  one  can  not  fail  to  see  an  encouragement  to 
the  Delawares  to  carry  out  their  determination  to  burn  the 
doctor ;  and,  further,  that  it  Avas  a  pleasure  to  Girty  to  know 
that  such  would  be  the  result.  A  short  distance  further  brought 
them  near  to  the  Tymochtee  creek,  Avhere  another  halt  was 
made.  They  had  now  arrived  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
of  the  Delaware  village,  which  was  further  down  the  stream. 

"  When  we  were  come  to  the  fire,"  says  Knight,  "  the  col- 
onel was  stripped  naked,  ordered  to  sit  down  by  the  fire,  and 
then  they  beat  him  with  sticks  and  their  fists.  Presently  after, 
I  was  treated  in  the  same  manner.  They  then  tied  a  rope  to 
the  foot  of  a  post  about  fifteen  feet  high,  bound  the  colonel's 
hands  behind  his  back  and  fastened  the  rope  to  the  ligature 
between  his  wrists.  The  rope  was  ^ong  enough  for  him  to  sit 
down  or  walk  round  the  post  once  or  twice  and  return  the 
same  way.  The  colonel  then  called  to  Girty  and  asked  if 
they  intended  to  burn  him  ?  Girty  answered,  yes.  The  col- 
onel said  he  would  take  it  all  patiently.  Upon  this  Captain 
Pipe  made  a  speech  to  the  Indians,  viz.,  about  thirty  or  forty 

*  Washington-Irvino  Correspondence,  p.  876.     But  it  is  not  entirely  cer- 
tain whetlier  he  was  told  this  at  the  time  or  a  little  later. 


History  of  the  Girti/a.  179 

men,  sixty  or  seventy  squaws  and  boys.  When  the  speech 
was  finished  they  all  yelled  a  hideous  and  hearty  assent  to 
what  had  been  said."  * 

It  is  very  evident  that,  from  the  time  Simon  Girty  met 
Crawford  on  the  road  to  t!'«  Tymochtee,  guarded  by  Captain 
Pipe  and  Wingenund,  to  the  moment  when  the  chief  first 
named  had  finished  his  harangue,  he  (Girty)  made  not  the 
slightest  effort  to  save  his  old  acquaintance  from  the  cruel 
fate  that  awaited  him  ;  nevertheless,  there  are  stories  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation,  in  the  West,  some  as  tra- 
ditions among  the  whites,  others  as  Indian  traditions,  to  the 
contrary.  Some  of  these  have  found  their  Avay  into  print. 
One  preserved  among  the  Wyandots  runs  as  follows ;  "  He 
[Crawford]  was  taken  by  a  Delaware ;  consequently  the  Dela- 
wares  claimed  the  right,  agreeably  to  their  rules,  of  disposing 
of  the  prisoner.  There  was  a  council  held,  and  the  decision 
was  to  burn  him.  He  was  taken  to  the  main  Delaware  town, 
on  a  considerable  creek,  called  Tymochtee,  about  eight  miles 
from  the  mouth.  Girty  then  supposed  he  could  make  a  specu- 
lation by  saving  Crawford's  life.  He  made  a  proposition  to  Ciip- 
tain  Pipe,  the  head  chief  of  the  Delawares,  offering  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  for  Crawford.  The  chief  received  it  as 
a  great  insult,  and  promptly  said  to  Girty,  '  Sir,  do  you  think 
I  am  a  sqiiau)  ?  If  you  say  one  more  word  on  the  subject,  I 
will  make  a  stake  for  you,  and  burn  you  along  with  the  white 
chief.'  Girty,  knowing  the  Indian  character,  retired  and  said 
no  more  on  the  subject.  But,  in  the  meantime,  Girty  had 
sent  runners  to  the  Mohican  creek  and  to  Lower  Sandusky, 
where  there  were  some  white  traders,  to  come  immediately 
and  purchase  Crawford;  knowing  that  he  could  make  a  great 
speculation  in  case  he  could  save  Crawford's  life.  The  traders 
came  on,  but  too  late."  f 

*  Knight  and  Slover's  Narratives,  p.  11.  The  citation  is  from  the  original 
publication. 

t  The  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  II,  p.  284.  There  is  in  all  this  not  a  word 
of  truth.  It  is  u  continuation  of  the  Wyandot  Indian  tradition  cited  on  a 
previous  page. 


180  History  of  the  Qir/i/n. 

m 

There  are  statements  by  descerulants  of  Girty  and  others 
preserved,  wherein  are  recorded  what  are  chiimed  to  be  the 
facts  concerning  his  attempts  upon  the  Tymoclitee  to  save  the 
life  of  Crawford.  But  all  these  come  from  interested  parties, 
and,  when  carefully  examined,  are  found  entitled  to  no  credit. 

So  soon  as  Captain  Pipe  had  finished  his  speech  to  the  assem- 
bled savages — men,  squaws,  and  children — the  Indian  men 
took  up  their  guns  and  shot  powder  into  Crawford's  naked 
body  from  his  feet  as  far  up  as  his  neck.  It  was  the  opinion 
of  Knight  that  not  less  than  seventy  loads  were  discharged 
upon  him !  They  then  crowded  about  him,  and,  to  the  best 
of  Knight's  observation,  cut  off  both  his  ears  ;  for,  when  the 
throng  had  dispersed,  he  saw  thv.  '  od  running  from  both 
sides  of  his  head  ! 

The  fire  was  about  six  or  seven  yards  from  the  post  to  which 
Crawford  was  tied.  It  was  made  of  small  hickory  poles  burnt 
quite  through  the  middle,  each  end  of  the  poles  remaining 
about  six  feet  in  length.  Three  or  four  Indians  by  turns 
would  take  up,  individually,  one  of  these  burning  pieces  of 
wood,  and  apply  it  to  his  naked  body,  already  burnt  black 
with  powder. 

These  tormentors  presented  themselves  on  every  side  of 
him,  80  that,  which  ever  way  he  ran  round  the  post,  they  met 
him  with  the  burning  faggots.  Some  of  the  squaws  took 
broad  boards,  upon  which  they  would  carry  a  quantity  of 
burning  coals  and  hot  embers,  and  throw  on  him ;  so  that,  in 
a  short  time,  he  had  nothing  but  coals  of  fire  and  hot  asheB 
to  walk  on !        .■,',.■*:''-■■  -'„■;':■•'■;;•-."_ 

In  the  midst  of  these  extreme  tortures,  Crawford  called  to 
Girty  and  begged  of  him  to  shoot  him ;  but  the  cruel  ren- 
gade  ma,king  no  answer,  he  called  again.  Girty  then,  by 
way  of  derision,  told  Crawford  he  had  no  gun ;  at  the  same 
time,  turning  about  to  an  Indian  who  was  behind  him,  he 
laughtjd  heartily,  and,  by  all  his  gestures,  seemed  delighted  at 
the  horrid  scene ! 

Girty  then  came  up  to  Knight  and  bade  him  prepare  for 
death.     He  told  him,  however,  he  was  not  to  die  at  that  place, 


,  Jfistory  of  the  Gtrtys.  ^  181 

but  was  to  be  burnt  at  the  Shawimeae  towns.  lie  swore,  with 
a  fearful  oath,  that  he  need  not  expect  to  escape  death,  but 
shouhl  suffer  it  in  all  its  extremities!  He  then  observed  that 
some  prisoners  had  given  him  to  understand  that,  if  the 
Americans  had  him,  they  would  hurt  him.  For  his  part,  ho 
said  he  did  not  believe  it;  but  desired  to  know  Knight's  opin- 
ion of  the  matter.  The  latter,  however,  was  in  too  great  an- 
guish and  distress,  on  account  of  the  torments  Crawford  was 
suffering  before  his  oyos,  and  because  of  the  expectation  of 
undergoing  the  same  fate  in  two  days,  to  make  any  answer. 
Girty  expressed  a  great  deal  of  ill-will  toward  Colonel  John 
(lil)son,  saying  he  was  one  of  his  greatest  enemies — and  more 
to  the  same  purpose;*  to  all  which  Knight  paid  but  little 
attention. 

Crawford,  at  this  period  of  his  suffering,  besought  the  Al- 
mighty to  have  mercy  on  his  soul,  spoke  very  low,  and  bore 
his  torments  with  the  most  manly  fortitude.  He  continued, 
in  all  the  extremities  of  pain,  for  an  hour  and  three-quarters 
or  two  hours  longer;  when,  at  last,  being  unable  to  stand,  he 
lay  down  upon  his  stomach. 

The  savages  then  scalped  him,  and  repeatedly  threw  the 
scalp  into  the  face  of  Knight,  telling  him  that  was  his  "  great 
captain."  An  old  squaw,  whose  appearance,  thought  Knight, 
every  way  answered  the  ideas  people  entertain  of  the  devil, 
got  a  board,  took  a  parcel  of  coals  and  ashes,  and  laid  them 
on  the  colonel's  back  and  bond.  He  then  raised  himself  upon 
his  feet,  and  began  to  walk  around  the  -nost.  They  next  put 
burning  sticks  to  him,  as  usual ,  but  he  seemed  more  insensible 
to  pain  than  before.  Knight  v,as  now  taken  away  from  the 
dreadful  scene. f     Crawford  was  then  "  roasted  "  "  by  a  slow 


*  Ono  of  the  letters  of  Gibson,  captured  by  Girty  at  Fort  Luurons,  when 
tlio  latter  ambuscaded  Captr.in  Clark,  was  well  calculated,  as  already 
stated,  to  stir  up  the  wrath  of  the  renegade,  Gibson  having  declared,  it 
will  be  remembered,  that  if  he  i^'uught  him  he  would  trepan  him. 

t  Knight  and  Slover's  Narratives  (edition  of  1783),  pp.11,  ^'2,  where  what 
took  place  at  the  torturing  of  Crawford  is  circumstantially,  ;..id,  beyond  all 
question,  very  truthfully  described  by  Dr.  Knight. 


182  History  of  the  Qirtja. 

firo"  *  until  (leiilii  put  an  ond  to  his  frightful  suffering.  After 
he  (lied — so  runs  the  tradition — the  faggots  wore  heaped  to- 
gether, his  hody  placed  upon  them,  and  around  his  charred 
remains  danced  the  delighted  savages  for  many  hours. f 

NoTK. — In  the  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  308- 
372,  were  printed,  in  1882,  from  copies  of  the  originals  in  the 
Public  Record  (State  Paper)  Office,  London,  England,  the 
letters  written  by  British  officers  engaged  against  Colonel 
Crawford  and  by  DePeyster,  giving  an  account  of  the  fighting 
upon  the  Sandusky  Plains;  also  one  letter  by  an  Indian  chief 
who  was  present,  written  to  the  Detroit  commandant.  1'heso 
transcripts  were  received  by  the  author  of  this  narrative  after 
the  publication  by  him  of  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Ex- 
pedition against  Sandusky  under  Col.  William  Crawford  in 
1782.  They  are,  in  general,  extravagant  in  their  estimate  of 
the  number  of  men  killed  by  the  Americans  under  Crawford, 
and  erroneous  as  to  the  intent  of  the  volunteers  who  marched 
upon  that  expedition.  They,  however,  corroborate,  in  many 
cases,  American  statements,  and,  in  some  instances,  especinlly 
as  to  who  had  command  of  the  Rangers  from  Detroit,  correct 
them.  These  letters  also  are  a  part  of  the  Ilaldimand  Collec- 
tion in  the  British  Museum,  copies  of  which  are  in  the  public 
archives  in  Ottawa,  Canada. 

•  Caldwell  to  DePeyster,  June  13,  1782.— MS.  letter,  Httldimand  Collec- 
tion. 

t  A.n  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  a;  ainst  Sandusky,  under  Col 
William  Crawford,  in  1782,  pp.  391,  392. 


IlUlory  of  the  Oirtyit.  188 


CHAPTLll  XX. 

After  the  torturing  of  Crawford  upon  the  Tymoclitec  was 
Ci.dotl,  Simon  Girty  returnctl  to  the  Half  King's  town  and  im- 
mediately started  for  Lower  Sandusky,  reaching  there  the 
night  following.  And  this  was  his  report  to  Captain  Caldwell 
there  of  the  awful  scene,  as  that  oflicor  the  next  day  informed 
DePeyster  by  letter: 

"Simon  Girty  arrived  last  night  from  the  \ipper  village 
(Half  King's  town)  who  informed  me,  that  the  Delawares 
had  burnt  Colonel  Crawford  and  two  captains,  at  Pipes- 
Town,  after  torturing  tliem  a  long  time.  Crawford  died  like  a 
hero;  never  ciianged  his  countenance  tho'  they  scalped  him 
alive,  nnd  then  laid  hot  ashes  upon  hia  head;  after  which, 
they  roasted  him  by  a  slow  fire.  He  told  Girty  if  his  life 
could  be  spared,  he  would  communicate  something  of  conse- 
quence, but  nothing  else  could  induce  him  to  do  it.  He  said 
some  great  blows  would  be  struck  against  the  country.  Craw- 
ford and  four  captains  belonged  to  the  Continental  forces.  He 
[Girty]  said  fourteen  captains  were  killed.  The  rebel  doctor 
[Knight]  and  General  Irvine's  aid-de-camp  [Rose]  are  taken 
by  the  Shawanese  ;  tliey  came  out  on  a  part}'  of  pleasure."  -^ 

It  will  bo  noticed  that  Girty  here  puts  in  no  claim  to  having 
interposed,  in  any  way,  to  save  the  life  of  Crawford  while  the 
latter  was  being  tortured ;  but  Captain  Elliott,  on  returning 
to  Detroit,  declared  that  he  [Elliott]  endeavored  to  save  him, 
but  without  avail.  That  this  was  true  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
and  it  must  ever  stand  as  very  greatly  to  his  credit.  Had 
Girty  made  an  efiFort  in  the  colonel's  behalf,  Elliott,  it  is 
more  than  probable,  would  have  mentioned  the  fact  to  DePey- 
ster. 

•  CaldwoU  to  DePeystor,  Juno  13,  1782. —  MS.  loiter,  Huldinmiid  Papers, 
cited  in  the  previous  chapter.  Whether  tho  error  as  to  Rose  and  the  "  two 
captains,"  in  this  letter,  are  due  to  Girty  or  Caldwell,  it  is  impossib'-i  to  r.ay. 


184  History  of  the  Girtys. 

James  and  George  Girty  soon  made  their  way  to  the  Indian 
villages  to  the  southward,  the  former  going  with  the  Shawanese, 
the  latter,  with  those  Delav/ares  (not  belonging  to  the  bands 
of  Captain  Pipe  and  Wingenund)  who  had  come  to  the  assist- 
ance of  their  friends  and  allies  upon  the  Sandusky.  George  had, 
al  the  direction  of  DePeyster,  gone  among  the  Delawares  to 
live,  where  he  could  be  of  more  service  than  with  the  Shawa- 
nese. This  took  place  soon  after  Brodhead's  visit  to  Coshoc- 
ton and  the  Dela^jVtires  had  withdrawn  from  the  waters  of  the 
Muskingum.  But  what  became  of  Dr.  Knight  after  being 
taken  from  the  terrible  scene  of  Colonel  Crawford's  torture  ? 
"  The  doctor,"  wrote  General  Irvine  to  Washington  from  Fort 
Pitt,  on  the  11th  of  July,  1782,  "  returned  the  fourth  instant 
to  this  place."  *  On  his  way  to  the  Shawanese  town,  under 
guard  of  a  single  Indian,  he  "found  an  opportunity  of  de- 
molishing the  fellow  and  making  his  escape."  He  reached 
Pittsburgh  after  suffering  much  from  the  want  of  food.f 

Of  the  stragglers  from  the  American  army  who  became  sep- 
arated from  it  on  the  night  Colonel  Crawford  commenced  his 
retreat  from  the  battle-field  of  the  4th  of  June,  John  Slover 
was  one.  He  was  one  of  the  guides  to  the  expedition.  On  the 
ninth,  when  about  twenty  miles  from  the  T"scarawas,  he,  with 
two  others,  was,  while  making  his  way  homeward  through  the 
wilderness,  captured  by  the  savages — two  of  his  compan- 
ions being  killed,  and  one,  James  PauU,  making  his  escape. 
The  three  prisoners  were  taken  to  the  Shawanese  towns. 
After  arriving  at  Wapatomica,  one  was  killed  in  a  shocking 
manner ;  one  was  sent  to  another  village,  while  Slover  re- 
mained unharmed,  except  some  injuries  received  previously 
in  running  the  gauntlet.  He  was  now,  at  a  council,  closely 
questioned  in  their  own  tongue  ly  the  Shawanese  (for  he  spoke 

*  VViishington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  126. 

-j-  Knight  and  Slover's  Narratives,  1783,  pp.  10-15,  where  the  doctor  gives 
a  full  account  of  his  escape.  The  route  taken  by  him  from  the  Tymachtte, 
I  have  taken  some  pains  to  trace  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedi- 
tion against  Sandusky,  under  Cul.  William  Crawford,  in  1782,  pp.  842,  343, 
369-374. 


TTistory  of  the  Qirtys.  185 

their  language,  also  the  Miami  and  Delaware,  the  first  two  with 
fluency,  he  having  previously  been  a  prisoner  among  the  In- 
dians). They  interrogated  him  concerning  the  situation  of  his 
country;  its  provisions;  the  number  of  its  inhabitants;  the 
state  of  the  war  between  it  and  Great  Britain.  He  informed 
them  Cornwallis  had  been  taken.  The  next  day  Captain  Elliott 
(who  had  arrived  from  the  Half  King's  town)  came  with  James 
Girty  to  the  council.  The  last-mentioned,  it  will  be  borne  in 
mind,  had  returned  with  the  Shawanese  from  the  Sandusky 
soon  after  the  retreat  of  Crawford's  army.  The  former  assured 
the  Indians  that  Slover  had  lied ;  that  Cornwallis  was  not 
taken ;  and  the  Indians  seemed  to  give  full  credit  to  his 
declaration. 

Hitherto,  Slover  had  been  treated  with  some  appearance  of 
kindness,  but  now  the  savages  began  to  change  their  behavior 
toward  him.  James  Girty  had  informed  them  that  when  he 
asked  him  how  he  liked  to  live  there,  he  had  said  that  he  bad 
intended  to  take  the  first  opportunity  to  take  a  scalp  and  run 
off".  It  was,  to  be  sure,  very  probable  that  if  he  had  had  such 
intention,  he  would  have  communicated  it  to  him !  It  was 
simply  a  story  concocted  to  bring  the  prisoner  to  the  stake. 

After  Slover's  examination,  the  Indians  gathered  for  a  num- 
ber of  days  in  council  laying  plans  against  the  settlements  of 
Kentucky,  the  Falls  (Louisville),  and  Wheeling,  from  fifty  to 
one  hundred  warriors  being  usually  present,  and  sometimes 
raore.  Slover  also  was  generally  in  attendance.  Every  war- 
rior was  admitted,  but  only  the  chiefs  or  head  warriors  had 
the  privilege  of  speaking — these  being  accounted  such,  from 
the  number  of  scalps  and  prisoners  they  had  taken.  The 
third  day  Captain  McKee,  who  had  come  on  from  Lower  San- 
dusky (having  gone  thence  from  Upper  Sandusky),  which 
place  he  left  or  the  11th  of  June,*  was  in  council,  and  after- 
ward was  generally  present.  He  spoke  little.  He  asked 
Slover  no  questions ;  indeed,  did  not  speak  to  him  at  all.  He 
then  lived  about  two  miles  from  Wapatomica ;   had  a  house 


•  Caldwell  to  DePeyster,  June  11, 1782  (from  Lower  Sandusky). — Wash- 
ington-Irvine Correspondence,  p.  .STl. 


186  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

built  of  square  logs,  with  a  shinglo  roof.     He  was  dressed  in 
gold-laced  clothes. 

Not  long  after  this  council  ended,  ahout  forty  warriors,  ac- 
companied by  George  Girty,  who,  as  previously  shown,  had 
returned  to  the  Delaware  villages  from  the  Sandusky  after 
the  retreat  of  Crawford's  force,  came  early  in  the  morning 
round  the  house  where  Slover  was.  He  was  sitting  before  the 
door.  The  squaw  gave  him  up.  They  put  a  rope  around  his 
neck,  tied  his  arms  behind  his  back,  stripped  him  naked,  and 
blacked  him  in  the  usual  manner.  Girty,  as  soon  as  he  was 
tied,  cursed  him,  telling  him  he  would  get  what  he  had  many 
years  deserved — showing  clearly  that  he  was  delighted  to 
know  that  death  by  torture  was  to  be  his  doom.  However, 
after  the  Indians  had  tied  their  prisoner  to  the  stake,  a  sud- 
den storm  came  up  and  they  postponed  their  deadly  work. 
Before  it  was  renewed,  Slover  found  means  to  escape,  reach- 
ing the  settlement  at  Wheeling  in  safety.  "A  certain  Mr. 
,  Slover,"  wrote  General  Irvine  to  Washington,  from  Fort  Pitt, 
on  the  eleventh  of  July,  in  a  letter  already  alluded  to,  "  came 
in  yesterday  [to  Pittsburgh],  who  was  under  sentence  of  death 
at  the  Shawanese  towns."  *  He  was  the  last  of  all  to  reach 
home  directly  from  the  Western  wilderness. f  The  entire  loss 
.  to  the  Americans  on  the  expedition,  including  those  who  sub- 
"  sequently  died  of  their  wounds,  was  less  than  seventy. 

The  truthful  reports  brought  in  by  Knight  and  Slcver  con- 
cerning the  three  Girtys,  conclusively  show  that  they  (the 
Girtys)  had  lost  all  feeling  of  compassion  for  their  unfortunate 
countrymen  held  as  captives  by  the  Indians.     It  was  now  a 

*  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  127.  The  fnll  particulars  of 
Slover's  escape  are  given  in  the  Knight  and  Slover  Narratives  of  1783, 
pp.  17-31. 

t  In  a  return  of  prisoners  belonging  to  the  provinces  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  made  on  the  2d  of  November,  1782,  by  Nicholas  Murray, 
commissary  of  prisoners,  preserved  among  the  Haldimand  Papers,  and 
published  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Collections  of  the  Vermont  Historical 
Society,  is  the  name  of  .Joshua  Collins,  taken  at  Sandusky,  June  5,  1782. 
Collins  is  the  only  one  known  to  have  been  captured,  besides  Knight  and 
Slover,  who  was  not  put  to  death  by  the  savages. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  187 

delight  to  them  to  know  of,  and  to  witness,  the  horrible  suf- 
ferings of  these  prisoners  at  the  stake.  Did  they  sometimes 
actually  assist  the  savages  in  inflicting  these  tortures  ?  This 
question  will  never  be  answered.     "  Dead  men  tell  no  tales." 

Note. — Simon  Girty  is  not  without  an  apologist  as  to  the 
part  taken  by  liim  upon  the  Tymochtee,  at  the  burning  of 
Crawford.  ■'  Our  border  histories  have  given  only  the  worst 
side  of  Girty's  character.  He  had  redeeming  traits.  . 
He  certainly  befriended  Simon  Kenton,  and  tried  to  save 
Crawford,  but  could  not.  In  the  latter  case  he  had  to 
dissemble  somewhat  with  the  Indians,  and  a  part  of  the  time 
appear  in  their  presence  as  if  not  wishing  to  befriend  him, 
when  he  knew  he  could  not  save  him,  and  did  not  dare  to 
shoot  him,  as  he  himself  was  threatened  with  a  similar  fate." — 
Lyman  C.  Draper,  as  quoted  by  Charles  McKnight,  in  Our 
Western  Border,  pp.  424,  425. 

When  it  is  said  that  "  he  [Girty]  had  to  dissemble  some- 
what with  the  Indians,"  the  meaning  of  Draper  is,  the  Del- 
aware Indians.  Why,  or  for  what  cause,  was  it  necessary  for 
Girty  "to  dissemble  somewhat"  with  the  Delawares?  De- 
Peyster  declares  that  an  "  Indian  ofiicfir "  (Captain  Elliott) 
was  present  and  did  all  he  could  to  save  Crawford.  Surely 
there  was  no  dissembling  on  part  of  Elliott ;  and  why  should 
there  have  been  on  Girty's  part  ?  And  then  Girty  had  "  a 
part  of  the  time  "  to  "  appear  in  their  [the  Delawares']  pres- 
ence as  if  not  wishing  to  befriend  him."  Why  was  it  neces- 
sary for  Girty  to  go  about  eight  miles  to  see  the  Delawares 
burn  Crawford,  "  and  a  part  of  the  time  appear  in  their  pres- 
ence as  if  not  wishing  to  befriend  him  [Crawford]  ?  "  Espe- 
cially, why  did  he  go  all  that  distance  "  when  he  knew  he  could 
not  save  him  ?  "  That  Girty  "  did  not  dare  to  shoot  him,  as 
he  himself  was  threatened  with  a  similar  fate,"  is.  a  tradition 
not  entitled  to  a  moment's  consideration.  Girty's  cruelty  and 
hard-heartedness  were  manifested,  not  in  his  refusing  to  put 
Crawford  at  once  out  of  his  horrible  sufferings  by  shooting 
him,  but  in  the  manner  of  his  refusal. 


188  History  of  the  Girtys. 

"  Dr.  Knight,  who  was  captured  with  Crawford  and  wit- 
nessed his  tortures,  and  who  has  long  been  accepted  as  a  most 
reliable  authority  on  this  subject,  while  he  says  that  Girty  re- 
fused the  prayer  ot'  the  tortured  man  to  shoot  him  and  '  by 
all  his  gestures  seemed  delighted  at  the  horrid  scene,'  does 
not  make  him  in  any  way  an  assistant  at  it." — Magazine  of 
American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  265.  This,  however,  must  be 
taken  with  some  grains  of  allowance.  By  his  presence  and 
delight,  he  encouraged  the  Delawares. 

The  Wyandots  who  were  there,  afterward  affirmed,  it  would 
seem,  that  Girty  actually  did  take  part  in  the  torture.  There 
is  also  this  additional  on  that  point :  "  Dr.  Knight,  in  his 
narrative  of  his  captivity  and  burning  of  Col.  Crawford,"  says 
Howe,  in  his  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio,  p.  247,  "  speaks 
of  the  cruelty  of  Simon  Girty  to  the  colonel  and  himself. 
Col.  John  Johnston  corroborates  the  account  of  Dr.  Knight. 
In  a  communication  before  us  he  says  :  '  He  [Simon  Girty] 
was  notorious  for  his  cruelty  to  the  whites,  who  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  His  cruelty  to  the  unfortunate  Col. 
Crawford  is  well  known  to  myself,  and  although  I  did  not  wit- 
ness the  tragedy,  I  can  vouch  for  the  facts  of  the  case,  having 
had  them  from  eye-witnesses.  When  that  brave  and  unfor- 
tunate commander  was  suffering  at  the  stake  by  a  slow  fire  in 
order  to  lengthen  his  misery  to  the  longest  possible  time,  he 
besought  Girty  to  have  him  shot  to  end  his  torments,  when 
the  monster  mocked  him  by  firing  powder  without  ball  at 
him.'"  But  the  statements  made  by  the  Wyandots  present 
were  only  the  outgrowth  of  a  desire  on  their  part  to  fix  as 
much  responsibility  as  possible  on  Girty  for  the  torture  of 
Crawford.  That  he  was  present,  encouraging  the  Delawares, 
and,  by  his  words  and  actions,  seemed  to  take  delight  in  the 
awful  scene,  was  the  part  taken  by  him  on  that  occasion. 

The  artiale  in  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  just  cited, 
says  (Vol.  XV,  p.  264) :  "  It  is  easy  ...  to  believe  that  the 
blackest  thing  that  has  ever  been  alleged  against  him  [Girty] 
is  that  he  not  only  did  not  save  the  tortured  and  slowly-dying 
colonel  [Crawford],  but  answered  him  with  a  mocking  laugh 


Hutory  of  the  Girtya.  189 

when  he  begged  him  to  shoot  him  and  relieve  him  of  his 
agony.  It  is  said  that  even  the  devil  is  not  as  black  as  he 
is  painted,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  same  may  be  said  of 
Girty.  Exactly  how  far  his  savage  and  perverted  nature  car- 
ried him  on  this  occasion  will  never  probably  be  accurately 
known."  But  the  facts  as  related  by  Dr.  Knight  none  can 
misunderstand  ;  and,  just  how  he  acted  and  just  what  he  said 
to  Crawford  and  the  doctor,  are  sufficiently  described  by  the 
latter  in  his  narrative. 

The  following,  from  an  old  ballad,  entitled  "Crawford's  De- 
feat," is,  of  course,  an  erroneous  account  of  the  part  taken 
by  Girty : 

"  "Well,  now  they  have  taken  these  men  of  renown, 
And  dragged  them  away  to  Sandusky  town, 
And  there  in  their  council  condemned  for  to  be 
Burnt  at  the  stake  by  cruel  Girty. 

"  Like  young  Diabolians,  they  this  act  did  pursue, 
And  Girty  the  head  of  this  infernul  crew — 
This  renegade  white  man  was  a  slander-by 
AYhilo  there  in  the  flro  their  bodies  did  fry."  • 

♦This  ballad,  furnished  by  the  author  of  this  narrative  to  Frank  Cowan, 
is  printed  entire  by  him  in  Southwestern  Pennsylvania  in  Song  and  Story, 
pp.  353-356,  and  has  since  been  copied  into  Newton's  History  of  the  Pan- 
Handle,  West  Virginia,  p.  123. 


190  History  of  the  Oirtys. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Assembled  at  Wapatomica,  in  June,  after  the  battles  upon 
the  Sandusky  Plains,  were  all  the  tribes  that  were  near — Otta- 
was,  Chippewas,  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Munceys, 
and  a  portion  of  the  Cherokees.  With  the  Wyandots  went 
Simon  Girty,  who  stopped  at  Solomon's  town.  Although 
plans  were  laid  against  the  settlements  in  Kentucky,  includ- 
ing the  Falls  (Louisville),  yet,  as  no  further  tidings  of  an  ag- 
gressive movement  on  part  of  Clark  had  been  received,  it  was 
determined,  in  the  first  place,  to  reduce  Wheeling. 

Captain  McKee,  the  most  influential  white  man  at  Wapa- 
tomica umong  the  Indians,  attended  the  most  important  of 
their  councils,  and  gave  advice  to  the  savages,  which  was,  in 
general,  acted  upon  by  them.  The  credit  of  this  has,  how- 
ever, been  erroneously  given  to  Simon  Girty  in  most  pub- 
lished accounts.  An  inflammatory  speech  against  the  Ken- 
tuckians  made,  it  is  said,  on  the  occasion,  is  credited  to  him. 
We  are  told  that,  in  order  to  stir  up  the  minds  of  young  warriors 
against  those  settlers,  he  "  took  an  elevated  stand,  when  he  dis- 
engaged his  arm  from  his  blanket,  assuming  the  attitude  of  an 
orator,  and  to  the  painted  savage  assembly,  equipped  in  all 
the  habiliments  of  war,  delivered  the  following  address : 

'''■Brothers — The  fertile  region  of  Kentucky  is  the  land  of 
cane  and  clover,  spontaneously  growing  to  feed  the  buffalo, 
the  elk,  and  the  deer :  there,  the  bear  and  the  beaver  are  al- 
ways fat — the  Indians  from  all  the  tribes  have  had  a  right,  from 
time  immemorial,  to  hunt  and  kill,  unmolested,  these  wild  ani- 
mals, and  bring  off  their  skins,  to  purchase  for  themselves 
clothing — to  buy  blankets  for  their  backs  and  rum  to  send 
down  their  throats,  to  drive  away  the  cold  and  rejoice  their 
hearts,  after  the  fatigues  of  hunting  and  the  toil  of  war. 
(Great  applause  from  the  crowd.) 

"  But,  brothers,  the  Long  Knives  have  overrun  your  country 


Hixtory  of  the  Girtys.  191 

and  usurped  your  hunting  grounds  :  they  have  destroyed  the 
cane,  trodden  down  the  clover,  killed  the  deer  and  the  buffalo, 
the  bear  and  the  raccoon.  The  beaver  has  been  chased  from 
his  dam  and  forced  to  leave  the  country.  (Palpable  emotion 
among  the  hearers.) 

'^Brothers — The  intruders  on  your  lands  exult  in  the  success 
that  has  crowned  their  flagitious  acts. — They  are  building 
cabins  and  making  roads,  on  the  very  grounds  of  the  Indian 
camp  and  war-path.  They  are  planting  fruit  trees  and  plow- 
ing the  lands  where  not  long  since  were  the  cane-brake  and 
clover-fields.  Were  there  a  voice  in  the  trees  of  the  forest  or 
articulate  sounds  in  th(i  gurgling  waters,  every  part  of  this 
country  would  call  on  you  to  chase  away  these  ruthless  invad- 
ers, who  are  laying  it  waste.  Unless  you  rise  in  the  majesty 
of  your  might,  and  extirminate  the  whole  race,  you  may  bid 
adieu  to  the  hunting  grounds  of  your  fathers — to  the  delicious 
flesh  of  the  animals  with  which  it  once  abounded,  and  to  the 
skins  with  which  you  were  once  enabled  to  purchase  your 
clothing  and  your  rum." 

Then,  we  are  further  informed,  that,  inflamed  to  frenzy  with 
this  harangue  (of  Girty),  the  young  warriors  expressed  their 
approbation,  and  evinced  their  determination  to  comply  with 
the  recommendations  of  the  speaker,  by  extending  outstretched 
arms  toward  Kentucky,  and  by  grasping  their  tomahawks 
and  striking  them  into  the  ground  with  an  hideous  yell.  The 
old  warriors  signified  their  apprgbation  by  a  loud,  sonorous 
grunt.* 

There  was  a  request  made  immediately  after  Crawford's  re- 
treat from  the  Sandusky,  by  Captain  Snake,  of  the  Shawanese, 
to  DePeyster,  that  he  would  let  Captain  Caldwell,  with  his 
Rangers,  remain  at  Lower  Sandusky  about  ten  days,  and  then 

*  G.  "W.  Stipp's  Western  Miscellany  (Bradford's  Notes),  pp.  81,  82.  Com- 
pare Marshall's  History  of  Kentucky,  Vol.  I,  pp.  132,  133.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  inform  the  reader  that  this  speech  is  fictitious.  It  bears  upon 
its  face  its  own  refutation.  Besides,  the  unlettered  Simon  Girty  never  did — 
never  could — talk  in  that  manner  oven  in  English;  whereas,  if  the  speech  was 
made  at  all,  it  must  have  been  in  the  language  of  one  of  the  Indian  tribes. 


192  Hiniory  of  (he  Girtys. 


march  to  the  Shawancse  villager  on  the  head-waters  of  tlio 
Mad  river.*  This  request  was  granted — that  officer  marching 
to  Wapatomica.  In  the  early  part  of  July,  Caldwell,  with  hit 
white  soldiers  and  three  hundred  Indians,  started  eastward, 
intending,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  savages,  to 
attempt  the  reduction  of  the  fort  at  Wheeling.  A  day  or 
two  after  his  departure,  vi'tiners  came  into  Wapatomica,  who 
gave  information  that  General  Clark  was  approaching  with  a 
train  of  artillery  and  a  large  body  of  troops.  The  alarm  was 
wide-spread,  and  an  express  was  sent  after  Caldwell,  who, 
with  McKee,  returned  to  Wapatomica ;  but,  before  turning 
back,  he  sent  forty  warriors  with  two  Frenchmen  to  watch  the 
frontiers  to  the  eastward,  and  give  intelligence  of  any  move- 
ments of  the  Americans,  particularly  if  there  was  any  expe- 
dition in  progress. t 

Before  recording  events  which  took  place  as  the  result  of 
Captain  Caldwell's  countermarch,  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
in  the  border  settlements  east  of  the  Ohio  and  around  Pitts- 
burgh, the  miscarriage  of  the  expedition  under  Crawford 
stimulated  the  borderers  to  ask  General  Irvine  to  organize 
another  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  the  command  of  which  he 
was  to  assume  in  person.  He  finally  commenced  operations 
looking  to  a  compliance  with  their  wishes.  But  this  move- 
ment soon  reached  the  ears  of  DePeyster,  at  Detroit,  who  at 
once  dispatched  Captain  Andrew  Bradt  with  a  company  of 
Rangers  to  reinfo''ce  Captain  Caldwell  at  Wapatomica.J 

•  Captain  Snake  to  DePeyster,  from  Upper  Sandusky,  June  8,  1782. — 
Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  369,  370.  The  original  of  this  let- 
ter is  one  uf  the  Haldimand  MSS.  Its  existence  was,  of  course,  unknown 
to  Koosevolt  when  he  wrote  The  Winning  of  the  West. 

t  McKee  to  DePeyster,  from  Wapatomica,  July  22,  1782. — MS.  letter; 
also,  Caldwell  to  DePeyster,  August  26,  1782.— MS.  letter:  Haldimand  Pa- 
pers. Since  the  above  was  written,  this  last  letter  has  been  published  in 
The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  pp.  402-404.  Compare  Washington- 
Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  332,  333,  as  to  the  march  toward  Wheeling. 

X  "  We  have  been  alarmed  here  [at  Detroit]  with  the  accounts  of  a  for- 
midable body  of  the  enemy  under  the  command  of  General  Hands  [Irvine], 
advancing  this  way,  which  occasioned  my  reinforcing  Captain  Caldwell." — 
DePeyster  to  Haldimand,  August  18,   1782. — Washington-Irvine  Corre- 


History  of  the  Qirfyg.  193 

There  coming  in  to  Wapatoinica  what  was  believed  to  be 
a  cor.firmation  of  the  report  as  to  General  Clark's  movements, 
tlu'  utmost  exertions  were  put  forth  by  McKec  to  collect  all 
the  Indians  possible  to  resist  the  invader.  It  was  resolved  to 
march  south,  tho  determination  on  part  of  Caldwell  being  to 
meet  and  fight  the  enemy  near  the  town  (Piqua)  which  Clark 
had  driven  the  Shawanese  from  two  years  before,  which  was 
about  forty  miles  away.  The  Indians  that  assembled  on  the 
occasion  were  Shawanese,  Delawares,  Wyandots,  Mingoes, 
Munceys,  Ottawas,  and  Chippewas,  Under  Captain  Caldwell 
were  Captains  McKee  and  Elliott ;  the  former  having  the 
general  marshaling  and  oversight  of  all  the  savages,  while  the 
latter  was,  there  are  reasons  for  believing,  in  command  only 
of  the  Shawanese.  In  the  army  were  the  three  Girtys.  "  We 
had,"  wrote  McKee,  "  on  this  occasion,  the  greatest  body  of 
Indians  collected,  on  an  advantageous  piece  of  ground  near 
the  Picawee  [Piqua]  village,  that  has  been  assembled  in  this 
quarter  since  the  commencement  of  the  war."  *  "  I  had," 
says  Caldwell,  "  eleven  hundred  Indians  on  the  ground  and 
three  hundred  more  within  a  day's  march."! 

Scouts   soon  returning  from  the  Ohio    informed    Caldwell 

spondence,  pp.  373,  374.  In  ciirrpnt  Western  hislorioi",  Brndt's  mime  is 
usually  (though  erroneou'ly)  spelK^d  Pratt. 

*  McKee  to  DePeyster,  August  28,  178"_'. — MS.  lett(!r,  Iluldininnd  Papers. 
This  letter,  since  tlie  almve  was  written,  has  been  publii^hed  by  Iloosovelt 
in  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  pp.  399-402. 

t  Caldwell  to  DePeyster,  August  2t),  1782,  already  cited.  IJoosevclt  (The 
Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  11,  pp.  187,  188)  gets  excited  over  this  "great 
army:"  "In  July  the  British  captains  Caldwell  and  McKeo  came  down 
from  Detroit  with  a  jiarty  of  rangers,  and  gathered  together  n  great  army 
of  dver  a  thousand  Indians — the  largest  body  of  either  red  men  or  white 
that  was  ever  mustered  west  of  the  Alleghanies  during  the  Revolution." 
But  Caldwell  and  McKee  did  not  come  down  from  Detroit  in  July  at  all. 
After  the  battles  with  Crawford's  force  on  the  Sandusky  Plains,  both  went 
to  Wapatomica.  That  writer  has  the  erroneous  idea,  too,  that  Caldwell,  in 
marching  toward  Wheeling,  had  his  "great  army  "  along.  It  is  also  to  be 
inferred  from  what  he  says,  that  Captain  A'cKeo  had,  along  with  Caldwell, 
command  of  the  Hangers,  which,  of  course,  is  wholly  wrong.  lie  has  no 
true  conception  of  McKee's  military  office. 

13 


194  HUtory  of  (he  Oirly», 


that  the  nccouiits  lie  lind  received  us  to  <'hirk's  inurcliiiig 
toward  him  Avero  false.  "This  disapjx  i.itinent,"  deelared 
McKee,  "  notwithstanding  all  our  cni'ivivors  to  keep  them 
[the  savages]  together,  occasioned  them  to  disperse,  in  dis- 
gust with  each  other.  The  iidiabitants  of  this  [the  Shawa- 
nese]  country,  who  were  the  most  immediately  interested  in 
keeping  in  a  body,  were  the  first  that  broke  away ;  and,  al- 
though we  advanced  towards  the  Ohio  with  upwards  of  three 
hundred  Ilurons  [Wyandots]  and  Lake  Indians,  few  of  the 
Dclawares,  Shawanese,  or  Mingoes  followed  us."  *  With  the 
returning  Shawanese  went  James  Girty;  but  Simon  and 
George  remained  with  Caldwell  on  the  march  with  his  Rangers 
and  Indians  to  the  Ohio. 

"  On  our  arrival  at  the  Ohio,"  adds  McKee,  "  wo  remained 
still  in  uncertainty  with  respect  to  the  enemy's  motions ;  and 
it  was  thought  best  to  send  scouts  to  the  Falls,  and  that  the 
main  body  should  advance  into  the  enemy's  country  and  en- 
deavor to  lead  out  a  party  from  some  of  their  forts,  by  which 
we  might  be  able  to  gain  some  certain  intelligence. '"t  "I 
crossed  the  Ohio,"  are  the  words  of  Caldwell,  "  with  three 
hundred  Indians  and  Rangers."  %  The  point  aimed  at  was 
Bryan's  Station,  located  in  what  is  now  Fayette  county,  Ken- 
tucky, detached  parties  having  prev..  '  ^^enetrated  into  the 
settlements. 

Captain  Caldwell,  with  his  Rangers  and  two  hundred  In- 
dians, crossed  the  Ohio  not  far  below  the  mouth  of  Limestone 
creek  (Maysville),  probably  at  the  mouth  of  Eagle  creek,  seven 
miles  distant.  The  place  of  destination  was  reached  on  the 
nicht  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  station  surrounded.  On  the 
succeeding  morning,  the  besiegers  showed  themselves,  laying 
siege,  at  sun-up,  to  the  fort ;  but,  fortunately,  the  small  gar- 
rison were  not  surprised ;  they  were  under  arms,  intending  to 
march  to  the  aid  of  a  neighboring  settlement  that  had  been 
threatened.     Two   couriers   from    the   garrison    managed   to 

•  From  McKee's  letter,  just  quoted. 

tid. 

X  Caldwell  to  DePeyster. — Letter  before  cited. 


Hittory  of  the  Oirtya.  195 


make  their  way  through  Cahlwell's  linos  unohsorvod,  and  has- 
tened to  Lexington  witii  the  news  of  the  presence  of  the 
enemy. 

A  reinforcement  of  thirty  mi*n  attempted  to  tlirow  tliem- 
sclves  into  the  fort ;  a  number  on  horseback  snccoedod.  Those 
on  foot  were  driven  back  with  the  h)ss  of  one  kille<l  and  three 
wounded.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  settlers — a  stout,  active 
young  fellow — who  had  come  to  the  assistance  of  his  besieged 
friends,  was  so  hard  pressed  by  a  white  man  and  several  sav- 
ages that  he  turned  and  fired,  and  the  white  man  fell.  The 
latter,  it  is  claimed,  was  Simon  Girty.  "  It  hai)pened,  how- 
ever, that  a  piece  of  thick  sole-leather  was  in  bis  shot-pouch 
ut  the  time,  which  received  the  ball  and  preserved  his  life,  al- 
though he  was  felled  to  the  ground.  The  savages  halted  upon 
his  fall  and  the  young  man  escaped."  But  this  story  is  un- 
doubtedly fictitious.  Who  of  the  Americans  knew  about 
Girty's  shot-pouch?  Besides,  he  was  too  much  of  a  boaster 
to  let  such  an  incident  pass  without  afterward  relating  the 
facts ;  and  in  no  instance,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered,  did  he, 
in  after  years,  ever  refer  to  any  such  event.*  During  all  the 
time  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy  around  the  station,  they 
contini'od  their  efforts  without  cessation. 

Just  here  we  must  mention  a  tradition,  Avhich  is  to  the 
effect  that,  before  the  close  of  the  day,  the  garrison  was  sum- 
moned by  Girty  to  surrender.  The  particulars,  as  recorded 
in  many  Western  histories — notably  in  Mcf  ^ng's  Sketches  of 
Western  Adventure — are  that  the  day  was  well  nigh  ended, 
and  still  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  were  unavailing.  The  In- 
dians had  become  discouraged.  Their  loss  in  the  morning's 
assault  was  heavy ;  they  had  made  no  impression  upon  the 
fort ;  and,  without  artillery,  Simon  Girty,  in  command,  could 
hope  to  make  none.  The  chiefs  spoke  of  raising  the  siege 
and  marching  homewards ;  thereupon  it  was  determined   to 

*  It  was  in  the  Kentucky  settlements  as  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia:  a  white  man  seen  in  battle  on  the  Indian  side  was  almost  certain 
to  be  set  down  as  Simon  Girty  by  the  borderers — as  we  have  seen  was  the 
case  at  the  conflict  upon  the  Sandusky  Plains  between  Crawford's  force  and 
the  Hangers  and  Indians. 


196  Hi»lory  of  the  Oirty», 

"■  ■■■y  ■■ -»^  II  ■  I  .^    ■  ■■  I  ■     .-   ■    —  I  I  ■    ■—   ■■■■■■    ^^■M i^-M  ■mil         — 

try  ncpotiiition — Giriy  lioping  to  obtain  by  n  (Icniiitut  wliat  be 
bad  failed  to  spciiro  l»y  artiiH.  He  tor)k  upon  bimself  to  de- 
mand tbo  surrender  of  tbe  station.  Near  one  of  tbe  baHtions 
of  tbe  fort  tliere  was  a  birge  Htninp.  To  tbiw  bo  crept  on  bis 
bands  and  knees,  and,  mounting  it,  bailed  tbe  garrison.  He 
had  approacbed  under  cover  of  a  tbick  growtb  of  hemp — tbo 
precisG  spot  wbero  lie  stood  when  be  began  bis  parley  was  tbe 
site  of  tbe  "  <l\velling-bouso  of  Mr.  Rogers,"  in  later  years. 
After  demanding  a  surrender,  be  gave  bis  name,  following  it  by 
an  inquiry  as  to  wbetber  be  was  known  to  tbo  people  of  tbe  fort. 
He  declared — so  tbe  story  runs — tiuit  il  e  people  would  be 
protected  if  tbey  would  open  tbe  gate  ;  but  tbis  would  be  out 
of  bis  power  if  tbe  fort  was  taken  by  storm,  as  it  would  be 
tbat  nigbt,  on  tbe  arrival  of  bis  cannon  and  strong  reinforce- 
ments, then  bourly  expected. 

Tbe  garrison  were  intimidated.  Tbey  had  listened  in  si- 
lence to  Girty's  speech ;  and  the  mention  of  artillery  awak- 
ened in  them  much  dread ;  as  tbey  well  remembered  the  fact 
that  cannon  bad  been  brought  with  the  army  of  invasion 
under  Bird,  when  Martin's  and  Ruddle's  Stations,  two  years 
before,  had  been  captured.  But  a  young  man,  the  story  con- 
tinues, by  tbe  name  of  Aaron  Reynolds,  highly  distinguished 
for  courage,  energy,  and  a  frolicsome  gayety  of  temper,  per- 
ceiving tbe  effect  of  Girty's  speech,  took  upon  himself  to  re- 
ply to  it.  To  Girty's  inquiry  whether  the  garrison  knew  him, 
Reynolds  replied  tbat  be  was  very  well  known  ;  tbat  be  him- 
self bad  a  worthless  dog  to  which  he  had  given  the  name  of 
"  Simon  Girty,"  in  consequence  of  his  striking  resemblance 
to  the  man  of  that  name ;  and  that,  if  he  had  reinforcements, 
he  might  bring  them  up ;  tbat  if  either  himself  or  any  of  the 
naked  rascals  with  him,  found  their  way  into  the  fort,  they 
would  disdain  to  use  their  guns  against  them,  but  would  drive 
them  out  again  with  switches,  of  which  they  bad  collected  a 
great  number  for  that  purpose  alone;  and,  finally,  he  declared 
that  Ihey  also  expected  reinforcements ;  that  the  whole  coun- 
try was  marching  to  their  assistance  ;  and  that,  if  Girty  and 
his  gang  of  murderers  remained  twenty-four  hours  longer  be- 


lliHtory  of  Ihc  (j/ir/i/a,  197 

fore  tlio  fort,  tlicit  sculps  would  bo  found  drying  in  tlio  sun 
upon  the  roofs  of  their  ciiliins. 

(lirty  took  ;;roii'  offenso  at  the  tone  and  hmj^uiij^e  of  the 
younj;  Kentuci<iiin,  we  lire  assured,  and  retired  with  un  ex- 
pression of  sorrow  for  the  inevitable  destruction  which  awaited 
the  people  in  the  f  .rt  on  the  following  morning.  Ho  quickly 
rejoined  his  chiefs,  and  instant  preparations  were  made  for 
raising  the  siege.  The  night  passeil  away  in  uninterrupted 
tran<|uillity,  and  at  daylight  in  the  morning  the  Indian  camp 
was  found  deserted. 

But  this  account,  so  circumstantially  given  by  many  writers, 
carries  with  it  its  own  refutation.  It  is  too  much  to  believe 
that  Captain  Caldwell  sent,  without  a  flag  and  in  the  manner 
indicated,  a  person  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  garrison ; 
besides,  Simon  Girty  was  not  so  foolhardy  as  to  creep  up  under 
cover  to  a  stump,  and  then  suddenly  show  himself  as  a  target 
for  the  sharpshooters  of  u  Kentucky  station.  And  further,  the 
language  imputed  to  him,  speaking  of  himself  as  the  'com- 
mander of  the  besieging  force,  and  asking  if  the  garrison  knew 
him,  would  have  sounded  strangely  enough  in  the  ears  of 
Caldwell,  who  must  have  been,  like  those  inside  the  stockade, 
within  hearing  distance  of  his  speech,  if  one  was  made.  The 
fact  was,  the  attack  began  about  sunrise  on  the  sixteenth,  and 
was  continued  unremittingly,  as  previously  stated,  all  that 
day,  all  the  ensuing  night,  und  until  ten  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon of  the  seventeenth.  In  all  cotemporaneous  accounts  of 
the  siege,  there  is  no  mention  of  a  demand  for  surrender — a 
strange  omission,  had  one  been  made. 

During  the  forenoon  of  the  seventeenth,  the  force  under 
Captain  Caldwell,  despairing  of  the  reduction  of  the  station, 
began  their  return  march  in  a  leisurely  manner,  having  burnt 
five  liouses  which  were  a  part  of  the  fort,  killed  upwards  of 
three  hundred  hogs,  one  hundred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle,  and 
a  number  of  sheep,  taken  a  number  of  horses,  and  destroyed 
all  the  potatoes  that  could  be  found,  cut  down  a  great  deal  of 
the  corn  growing,  burned  the  hemp  in  the  fields,  and  done 
considerable  other  damage.     The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  five 


198  Hists'^y  of  the  Qirtys. 

killed  and  two  wounded.  Of  those  defending  the  fort,  tliere 
were  four  killed  and  threo  wounded. 

The  Kentuckians  soon  gathered  in  considerable  force  at 
Bryan's  Station,  and  determined  to  pursue  the  retreating 
army,  having  little  idea  of  its  numerical  strength.  The  pur- 
suit commenced  on  the  eighteenth,  the  whole  number  of  the 
pursuers  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  eighty-two.  These 
were  under  the  command  of  Colonel  John  Todd.  About 
eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth,  the  enemy, 
consisting  of  about  two  hundred  Indiiins  (one  hundred  having 
previously  left)  and  thirty  picked  Rangers,*  was  discovered 
on  the  Licking  river,  in  what  is  now  Nicholas  county,  in  sight 
of  where  the  Maysville  and  Lexington  Turnpike  crosses  that 
stream,  not  far  north  of  the  Lower  Blue  Licks.  A  battle 
(known  in  history  as  that  of  the  Blue  Licks)  immediately  en- 
sued, the  result  being  disastrous  to  the  Kentuckians  :  not  less 
than  seventy  were  killed,  a  number  badly  wounded,  and  seven 
made  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  British  was  one  killed  ;t  of 
the  Indians,  ten  killed  and  fourteen  wounded. 

Throughout  all  the  western  settlements  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  and  especially  in  Kentucky,  Simon  "Girty  was 
afterward  credited  with  having  been  the  leader  of  the  savages 
in  the  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks ;  though  some  were  in  the  be- 
lief that  he  was  only  one  of  the  "  many  white  men  "  who  com- 
manded that  day.       :-. ^.j^^^':;;^;ir;o'-v,/'-v<>.^^-;v  C, -::;•.?:         '         '--:^-:i.. 

Beyond  the  mountains,  in  Virginia,  eastward,  the  idea  of 


♦  DePeysler  to  HiildimanH,  September  4.  1782. — ilS.  letter,  HaldimHnd 
Papers.  "  We  were,"  says  McKeo,  "  not  much  superior  t«  them  [the  Kun- 
tiK'kians]  in  niimliers,"  whirli  was  true.  After  mu<;h  tribulation,  the  author 
of  The  Winninc:  of  the  West,  in  V.'l.  II,  p.  I!)9,  figures  out  that  Caldwell's 
entire  force,  on  the  niorninft  of  the  l!Hh  of  August,  consisted  of  "nearly 
three  hundred  men  in  all."  The  trouble  with  Roosevelt  is,  he  is  lacking;  in 
Haldimand  MSS.,  notwithstandinj?  in  his  Profuce  he  declares  ho  had  all  ho 
"  needed."  A  knowledge  of  what  is  contained  in  DePeyster's  letter  to 
Haldimand  (  f  September  4,  1782,  would  have  saved  him  an  erroneous  esti- 
mate. 

t  This  man  was  not  a  "ranger,"  as  Uoosevelt  declares,  but  belonged  to  the 
British  Indian  Department,  the  same  as  his  two  companions  in  arms — Simon 
and  George  Girty. 


Hiitory  of  the  Girtyi.  199 

Simon  Girty's  power  in  the  Ohio  wlldernesa  to  marshal  the 
savages,  and  of  his  prowess  in  battle,  was  even  more  exagger- 
ated than  upon  the  border. 

"Never  were  the  lives  of  so  many  valuable  men  lost  more 
shamefully,"  wrote  a  Virginian,  not  long  after  the  battle  of 
the  Blue  Licks,  in  criticising  those  in  command  on  the  Amer- 
ican side,  "  than  in  the  late  action  of  the  19th  of  August ;  and 
that  not  a  little  through  the  vain  and  seditious  expressions  of  a 
Major  McGeary.  How  much  more  harm  than  good  can  one 
fool  do.  Todd  and  Trigg  had  capacity,  but  wanted  experience. 
Boone,  Harlan,  and  Lindsay  had  experience,  but  were  defect- 
ive in  capacity.  Good,  however,  would  it  have  been  had  their 
advice  been  followed.  Logan  is  a  dull,  narrow  body,  from 
whom  nothing  clever  need  be  expected.  What  a  figure  he  ex- 
hibited at  the  head  of  near  500  men,  to  rji^ch  the  Held  of  ac- 
tion six  days  afterward,  and  hardly  wait  to  bury  the  dead,  and 
when  it  was  plain  part  of  the  Indians  were  still  in  the  coun- 
try. General  Clark  is  in  that  country,  but  he  has  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  people  and  it  is  said  become  a  sot ;  perhaps 
something  worse.  The  chance  is  now  against  General  Irvine's 
succeeding  [in  the  expedition  against  Sandusky  and  Detroit, 
supposed  at  the  date  of  the  writing  actually  to  have  marched 
from  Fort  Pitt,  but  which  expedition  was  finally  given  up], 
disappointed  [as  he  is]  in  Clark's  co-operation,  which  he  was 
promised ;  and,  it  is  said,  [he]  set  out  with  only  1,200  men. 
Simon  Girty  can  outnumber  him ;  and,  flushed  with  so  many 
victories,  to  his  natural  boldness,  he  will  be  confident."  * 

And  from  more  than  a  month  before  that  was  written  to  the 
present  day  (with  few  exceptions),  Simon  Girty  has  been 
spoken  of,  by  those  who  have  written  of  the  battle  of  the  Blue 
Licks  (when  the  leader  of  the  enemy  has  been  mentioned  at 
all),  as  the  master-spirit  of  that  contest  of  arms;t  dividing 

•  riolonel  Arthur  GHmpbell  to  Colonel  "Wtti.  Daviea,  Oc'tober  3,  1782,  in 
Calendar  of  Virjiinia  State  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  337,  888. 

t  Ho  is  80  crediled  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against 
Sandusky,  under  Col.  William  Crawford,  in  1782,  pp.  195,  196.  A  more 
recent  following  in  the  same  channel  is  the  Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  pp.  267,  268. 


200  Hidory  of  the  Girtys. 

the  honor,  however,  sometimes,  with  Captain  McKee ;  at  other 
times,  with  both  Captain  Cahiwell  and  the  last-named.  That 
he  was  in  the  battle  is  certain;  but  it  is  equally  certain  chat 
he  did  not  have  command  of  the  enemy's  force — not  tia  of 
the  Indians.  There  are  four  official  reports  e:  tant  of  the 
battle  of  the  Blue  Licks — two  American  *  and  two  British  ;  f 
neither  mention  his  name  at  all.  He  had  no  position  except 
that  of  interpreter.  The  same  may  be  said  of  his  brother, 
George. 

Leisurely,  after  the  battle,  the  victors  recrussed  the  Ohio, 
Captain  Caldwell  with  his  Rangers  returning  to  Wapatomica, 
going  thence  to  Upper  Sandusky,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
24th  of  September.^  That  officer  soon  left  the  Sandusky 
for  Detroit,  very  ill  with  intermitting  fever.§  The  savages 
made  their  way  to  their  homes  || — George  Girty  going  with 
the  Delawares  to  the  Mad  river  and  Simon  with  the  Wyandots 
to  the  Half  King's  town. 

There  were  now  prospects  of  peace ;  and,  during  the  last 
half  of  August,  DePeyster  received  from  Brigadier-General 
Powell  at  Niagara  a  letter  directing  him  to  act  on  the  defensive 
only  in  all  operations  in  the  Ohio  country.  He  immediately 
dispatched,  therefore,  an  express  to  Captains  Caldwell  and 
Bradt,  and  one  to  McKee,  ordering  them  "  not  to  make  any 
incursions  into  the  enemy's  country."  "  I  hope,"  said  De- 
Peyster, "  the  courier  will  be  in  time  to  stop  Captain  Bradt, 
who  is  on  the  point  of  setting  out  for  the  neighborhood  of 
Wheeling,  but  I  fear  Captain  Caldwell  has  already  passed  the 

»  Calendar  of  Virj;inia  State  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  275,  333. 

t  Caldwell  to  DePeyster,  August  26,  and  McKee  to  same,  August  28, 
1782. 

X  Caldwell  to  DePeyeter,  September  24,  1782..— MS.  letter,  Haldimand 
Papers. 

g  Dundas  to  Haldimand,  October  0,  1782. — MS.  letter,  Haldimand  Papers. 

II  Roosevelt,  in  informing  his  readers  of  the  savages  after  the  battle,  says: 
"The  victorious  Indians,  glutted  with  vengeance,  recrossed  the  Ohio  and 
vanished  into  the  northern  forests."  He  is  in  ignorance,  it  seems,  us  to 
what  became  of  Caldwell  and  his  Hangers. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  201 

Ohio,  in  order  to  be  satisfied  of  the  enemy's  motions,  in  which 
case  he  Avill  strike  some  strokes  before  he  returns."  * 

Captain  Bradt,  with  liis  company  of  forty  Hangers  and  all 
the  Indians  that  couhl  be  mustered — two  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  in  number — resolved,  as  mentioned  by  DePeyster,  to 
march  at  once  against  Wheeling,  the  courier  ordering  him  to 
act  only  on  the  defensive  not  reaching  him  in  time  to  prevent 
his  departure ;  so  he  proceeded  eastward  and  crossed  the 
Ohio.  He  laid  siege  to  Fort  Henry,  but  with  little  success. 
He  reached  the  vicinity  of  Wheeling  on  the  11th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  continued  around  the  fort  until  the  morning  of  the 
thirteenth,  when  he  and  his  force  disappeared.  The  garrison 
had  none  killed  and  but  one  wounded.  A  small  stockade — 
Rice's  fort — was  next  attacked  by  the  enemy,  but  they  were 
repulsed  with  loss  of  two  Indians  killed — the  besieged  losing 
one  of  their  number  shot.  Captain  Bradt  with  his  Rangers 
and  Indians  thereupon  recrossod  the  Ohio,  reaching  Wapa- 
tomica  on  the  twenty-first,  with  his  white  troops  and  a  few 
Delawares.  It  was  the  last  attempt  of  the  British  and  In- 
dians in  force  across  the  Ohio  into  the  border  settlements  to 
the  eastward  during  the  war.  With  the  expedition  was  James 
Girty,  but  he  had  no  command.! 

The  counter-stroke  to  Caldwell's  success  at  the  Blue  Licks 
was  the  marching  of  General  Clark  with  over  a  thousand  men 
against  the  principal  Shawanese  town  on  the  Miami  river,  now 
Piqua,  Miami  county,  Ohio,  and  the  complete  sacking  of  that 

*  UePeyster  to.  Brigadier-Ge.neral  Powell,  Augiu-t  27,  1782.— MS.  letter, 
Haldiniand  Pa])ers. 

t  Besides  local  histories  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virghiin,  and  other 
"Western  works,  consult,  as  to  this  second  siege  of  Wheeling,  the  Waiihing- 
ton-Irvino  Correspondence,  pp.  312-310,  397.  I  have  before  ine,  givina;  in- 
teresting particulars,  MuKee  to  Caldwell,  September  2;  same  to  DePeyster, 
September  23,  1782.— MS.  letters,  Haldimand  Papers.  "But  its  [Wheel- 
ing's] most  noteworthj  siege,'  says  Roosevelt  (The  Winning  of  the  West, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  118,  119),  "txTUTiod  during  the  succeeding  summer  [after  1781], 
-when  Simon  Girty,  witi  ie  and  drum,  led  a  large  band  of  Indians  and  De- 
troit rangers  against  it,  Oily  to  be  beaten  off."  But  in  a  foot-note  on  the 
same  page,  he  declai'es  bij  ui^eci  "not  know  which  of  the  two  brothers  Girty 
was  in  command '' 


202  History  of  the  Girtys. 

village  and  Lorimer's  at  the  portage  above,  early  in  Novem- 
ber. This  was  the  ending  virtually  of  the  Western  Border 
War,  so  far  as  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  were  concerned,  al- 
though, as  a  matter  of  fact  which  will  hereafter  bo  noted 
more  particularly,  savage  incursions  did  not  entirely  cease  for 
months  afterward. 

After  the  cold  weather  had  set  in,  Simon  Girty  was  kept 
actively  employed  in  ciirrying  intelligence  from  the  Sandusky 
to  Detroit  and  return — visiting  the  latter  place  at  least  twice 
during  the  ensuing  winter.* 

Note  I. — The  relation  of  the  supposed  speech  of  Simon 
Girty  at  Wapatomica  to  be  found  in  the  Bradford  Notes,  loses 
nothing  in  the  Magazine  of  American  History  (Vol.  XV,  p. 
267) :  "  Elated  by  their  victory  over  Crawford  and  spurred 
on  by  rumors  of  a  peace  which  would  leave  the  choicest  of 
their  hunting-grounds  forever  in  the  possession  of  their  ene- 
mies, the  Indians  were  eager  to  make  a  crowning  effort  for 
the  recovery  of  Kentucky,  and  early  in  August  of  this  year^ 
1782,  a  grand  council  of  the  North-western  tribes  was  held 
at  Chillicothe  to  decide  the  question  of  invasion.  Simon 
Girty,  who  was  now  one  of  the  most  trusted  and  devoted  of 
the  Indian  leaders,  was  the  foremost  figure  at  this  meeting, 
and  is  credited  by  Bradford  with  having  made  the  decisive 
speech  of  the  occasion.  .  .  .  To  the  assembled  chiefs  his 
words  were  the  words  of  Katepacomen,  their  adopted  brother, 
who  was  as  faithful  to  them  as  the  panther  to  her  cubs ;  whose 
tent-poles  had  been  strung  with  the  scalps  of  their  enemies, 
whose  cunning  was  that  of  the  fox  and  whose  heart  had  never 
failed  him  in  time  of  battle.  In  his  speech,  which  aroused 
the  warriors  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement,  he  depicted 
the  ruin  the  whites  were  making  of  their  favorite  hunting- 

*  In  the  Pindlay  (O.)  Courier,  published  Pome  yearn  since,  it  is  asserted 
that,  "A  short  time  ago,  a  dirk-jtnife  was  found  imbedded  in  the  center  of  a 
tree  on  the  farm  of  Alex.  Morrison,  about  three  miles  nurth-eust  of  Findlay. 
On  being  cleaned,  thert-.  was  found  on  the  blade  of  the  knife,  rudely  cut,  the 
letters  '8.  Girty,  1782.'  "     This,  however,  I  have  not  been  able  to  verify. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  203 

ground,  urged  an  immediate  blow  for  its  recovery,  and  then 
with  significant  flourishes  of  his  tomahawk  he  closed  his  im- 
passioned words  by  a  fiery  call  for  the  extermination  of  their 
enemies,  which  was  answered  by  a  wild  and  unanimous  yell  of 
approval.     The  council  promptly  declared  for  invasion." 

Note  II. — The  ubiquity  of  Simon  Girty,  as  represented  by 
different  writers,  is  remarkable.  At  the  very  time  that  he 
was  "  on  the  wing  "  in  the  Mad  river  country,  he  was  repre- 
sented as  being  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  by 
one  writer,  who  says  :  "  I  had  almost  forgot  informing  your 
excellency  that  the  noted  Girty  has  for  some  years  past 
threatened  the  town  of  Bedford  with  destruction,  in  like  man- 
ner as  he  has  that  of  Hanna's  Town.  He  has  effected  his  de- 
sij,.  on  the  latter,  and  how  soon  he  may  eflfect  a  similar  de- 
struction on  the  former  I  know  not.''  See  Bernard  Dougherty 
to  Moore,  August  19,  1782,  in  Pennsylvania  Archives  (Old 
Series),  Vol.  IX,  p.  620.  [Hannastown  was  burned  July 
13th.] 

It  is  not  enough  that  fiction  has  taken  Simon  Girty  as  far 
eastward,  after  he  went  to  live  with  the  Wyandots,  as  Hannas- 
town ;  it  has  described  him  as  making  excursions  even  to  the 
Susquehanna,  as  the  following  indicates  :  *'  He  [Simon  Girtyl 
made  frequent  incursions  from  the  Wyandotte  settlement  to 
the  Susquehanna.  He  is  said  to  have"  slept  during  his  stay  at 
Halffall  Hills  in  a  cave  next  the  river  in  the  end  of  the  moun- 
tain. He  came  here  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  whites 
at  Fort  Halifax  from  the  top  of  this  mountain.  The  narrow 
channel  in  the  river  at  the  end  of  Halffall  Hills  was  named 
'  Girty's  Notch.'  The  traveler  is  reminded  [1872]  of  his  ap- 
proach to  the  notch,  as  he  descends  the  river,  by  the  sign 
'  Girty's  Notch  Hotel.'  " — Wright's  History  of  Perry  county, 
Pennsylvania,  p.  34.  This,  we  believe,  is  as  far  toward  the 
sea-board  as  the  wildest  speculation  has  taken  the  renegade 
in  his  marauds. 

Note  III. — Concerning  the  (supposed)  attempt  of  Simon 


204  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Girty  to  induce  the  garrison  of  Bryan's  Station  to  surrender, 
Roosevelt,  in  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  pp.  195, 
196,  says  : 

"  Girty,  who  was  among  the  assailants,  as  a  last  shift,  tried 
to  get  the  garrison  to  surrender,  assuring  them  that  the  In- 
dians were  hourly  expecting  reinforcements,  including  the 
artillery  brought  against  Ruddle's  and  Martin's  stations  two 
years  previously ;  and  that  if  forced  to  batter  down  the  walls 
no  quarter  would  be  given  to  any  one.  Among  the  fort's  de- 
fenders was  young  Aaron  Reynolds  .  .  .  and  he  now  un- 
dertook to  be  spokesman  for  the  rest.  Springing  up  into 
sight  he  answered  Girty  in  the  tone  of  rough  banter  so  dear 
to  the  backwoodsmen,  telling  the  renegade  that  he  knew  him 
well,  and  despised  him,  that  the  men  in  the  fort  feared 
neither  cannon  nor  reinforcements,  and  if  need  be,  could 
drive  Girty's  tawny  folloAvers  back  from  the  walls  with 
switches  ;  and  he  ended  by  assuring  him  that  the  whites, 
too,  were  expecting  help,  for  the  country  was  roused,  and  if 
the  renegade  and  his  followers  dared  to  linger  where  they 
were  for  another  twenty-four  hours,  their  scalps  would  surely 
be  sun-dried  on  the  roofs  of  the  cabins." 

Roosevelt  (p.  193,  note)  gives  his  reasons  for  not  rejecting 
the  account  of  Girty's  demand  and  of  Reynolds's  reply.  "Of 
course,  his  [Reynolds's]  exact  words,  as  given  by  McClung 
[in  his  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure],  are  incorrect ;  but 
Mr.  L.  C.  Draper  informs  me  that,  in  his  youth,  he  knew  sev- 
eral old  men  who  had  been  in  Bryan's  Station  and  had  them- 
selves  heard  the  speech.  If  it  were  not  for  this  I  should  re- 
ject it,  for  the  British  accounts  do  not  even  mention  that  Girty 
was  along,  and  do  not  hint  at  the  incident.  It  was  probably 
an  unauthorized  ruse  of  Girty's."  What  Roosevelt  means  by 
"  British  accounts  "  is,  "  British  cotemporaneous  accounts ;  " 
and  he  might  have  said  the  same  of  American  cotemporaneous 
accounts ;  none  mention  the  name  of  Girtv  at  all.  As  to  the 
"  ruse  of  Girty,"  it  may  be  aflSrmed  that  he  was  altogether 
too  intelligent  to  attempt  to  shoulder  any  such  responsibility 


History  of  the  Girly».  205 

as  the  demanding  of  the  surrender  of  the  fort  without  authority 
from  Captain  Cakhvell. 

As  to  the  declaration  of  Draper,  it  will  be  observed  that  he 
does  not  claim  that  "  several  old  men "  fold  him  they  had 
heard  the  speech ;  but,  suppose  such  was  the  fact,  liow  stands 
the  case  ?  These  men  must  have  been  very  aged ;  for  when 
Draper  became  acquainted  with  them,  it  seems  probable  he 
was  a  "  youth  "  of  some  twenty-five  years.  (See  Magazine 
of  Western  History,  Vol.  V,  p.  339.)  These  old  men  had 
possibly  read  the  account  of  Girty's  demand  and  Reynolds's 
reply,  and  had  come  to  believe  them  as  having  actually  been 
made.  Nothing  is  more  treacherous  than  the  recollections  of 
the  aged.  The  whole  story  is  based  upon  the  fictitious  idea 
that  Girty  had  command  of  the  enemy.  Some  writers  say 
the  parley  was  in  the  night.  As  to  the  "  switches,"  that  would 
have  been  nonsense. 

In  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  San- 
dusky (pp.  195,  196),  currency  has  been  given  to  the  story  of 
the  parley  between  Girty  and  Reynolds — following  the  account 
as  usually  published.  See,  also,  the  Magazine  of  American 
History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  268.  ,  _[ 

Note  IV. — So  much  credence  has  been  given  to  the  report 
that  Simon  Girty  commanded  the  combined  force  of  British 
and  Indians  at  the  Blue  Licks,  and  so  interwoven  is  it  in  the 
histories  of  the  West — especially  of  Kentucky — that  an  in- 
quiry is  proper  as  to  its  origin.  The  first  American  accounts 
of  the  battle,  given  by  writers  who  took  part  in  the  action, 
evidently  had  not  heard  the  report. 

"  In  the  meantime,"'  wrote  Levi  Todd  to  his  brother,  Robert 
Todd,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  "  the  Indians  made  a 
violent  attack  upon  Bryant's  Fort  [Bryan's  Station],  and  con- 
tinued it  all  day  and  night." — Calendar  of  Virginia  State 
Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  333  (compare  Boone  to  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  August  30,  in  same,  p.  275).  The  report,  however, 
soon  became  current ;  but  it  coupled,  oi'iginally,  Girty's  name 
with  "  many  other  white  men,"  as  commander  (Logan  to  Gov- 
ernor Harrison,  August  31,  1782,  in    Calendar  of  Virginia 


206  Hhlory  of  (he  GiHys. 


State  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  280) ;  showing,  conclusively,  that 
it  was  all  guess-work — all  iiuDgination.  Then  it  was  declared 
he,  alone,  led  the  enoihy  (Levi  Todd  to  Governor  Harrison 
and  Council,  September  11,  1782,  in  Calendar  of  Virginia 
State  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  300) ;  which  declaration  has  been, 
more  than  others,  the  one  to  gain  the  greatest  currency. 
However,  the  credit,  as  before  intimated,  has  been  sometimes 
divided  between  him  and  Captain  McKee  (Filson's  Narrative 
of  Daniel  Boone,  of  1784).  In  one  account,  Caldwell,  Girty 
and  McKee,  are  all  sharers  in  the  honor  (CoUins's  Kentucky, 
Vol.  I,  p.  20). 

The  report  is,  it  is  believed,  more  strongly  set  forth  in  the 
following  from  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV 
(pp.  267,  268),  than  in  any  other  published  account: 

"  Girty  was  chosen  the  leader  of  the  savage  army  of  nearly 
six  hundred  warriors,  and  Bryant's  and  Lexington  stations, 
■which  were  only  five  miles  apart,  were  marked  as  the  first  in 
order  of  destruction.  By  the  middle  of  the  month  the  dusky 
horde,  after  a  swift  and  stealthy  march,  reached  the  center  of 
the  wilderness  now  so  widely  known  as  '  the  Blue  Grass  Re- 
gion of  Kentucky,'  and  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of  August 
silently  settled  around  the  famous  Bryant's  Station,  which 
they  had  expected  would  fall  at  once  into  their  hands  through 
the  absence  of  its  usual  male  defenders.  With  admirable 
skill  the  wily  Girty  had  maneuvered  to  draw  them  out  to  the 
relief  of  Hoy's  Station,  which  he  had  caused  to  be  threatentd 
several  days  before  for  that  very  purpose,  and  the  pioneers, 
completely  deceived  by  the  device,  were  busy  with  prepara- 
tions for  a  march  by  sunrise,  when  he  arrived  fortunately  for 
them  a  few  hours  before  their  intended  departure.  The  de- 
ceiver was  himself  deceived.  Mistaking  the  bustle  and  the 
lights  within  the  fort  to  mean  that  his  presence  had  been  dis- 
covered, Girty  ordered  a  premature  attack,  which  revealed  to 
the  unsuspecting  and  astounded  garrison  the  imminence  of  its 
danger  and  ultimately  resulted  in  the  failure  of  its  enemies. 
The  gallant  charge  of  the  men  of  Lexington,  through  the  In- 
dian lines  and  into  the  beleaguered  fort ;  the  heroic  exploit  of 


Ilixlory  of  the  Gir/t/n.  207 

the  women  who  marched  into  the  jftws  of  deatli  to  get  water 
for  the  garrison,  and  the  successful  defense  of  Bryant's  Sta- 
tion, are  now  too  celebrated  in  story  and  in  song  to  need 
another  telling. 

"At  this  siege  Girty  displayed  his  usual  courage.  He  led 
on  the  Indians  when  they  stormed  the  palisades,  and  in  a  close 
encounter  with  a  Lexington  rifleman  barely  escaped  with  his 
life.  His  parley  with  the  garrison,  however,  when  ho  tried  to 
negotiate  a  surrender,  resulted  only  in  his  mortification  and 
the  taunt  of  the  fearless  Reynolds  that  '  they  knew  him,  and 
he  himself  had  a  worthless  dog  that  looked  so  much  like 
him,  that  he  called  him  Simon  Girty,'  must  have  convinced 
the  White  Indian  how  greatly  he  was  detested  by  the  pioneers. 
The  alarm  had  now  gone  forth,  the  rescue  was  sounded  and 
the  siege  was  abandoned.  Girty's  plan,  so  admirably  con- 
ceived, so  well  conducted  and  so  nearly  realized,  failed,  but  in 
the  very  face  of  defeat  and  while  the  brave  hunters  of  Ken- 
tucky were  gathering  and  marching  against  him,  beset  by 
difficulties  but  undiscquraged,  he  formed  a  scheme  still  deeper 
and  more  dangerous  to  his  foes.  He  retreated,  but  it  was  a 
subtle  and  seductive  retreat,  which  lured  the  small  but  daunt- 
less band  of  his  pursuers  to  the  fatal  hills  and  deadly  ravines 
of  the  Blue  Licks,  where  the  advice  of  the  sagacious  Boone 
was  disregarded,  and  where,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1782,  the 
Indians  struck  a  blow  that  sent  horror  and  grief  to  every 
cabin  in  the  wilderness  of  Kentucky  and  invested  the  name 
of  a  barren  and  rugged  spot  of  earth  with  a  sad  and  san- 
guinary immortality.  The  criminal  rashness  of  McGary,  the 
precipitate  crossing  of  the  fatal  ford,  the  unequal  struggle, 
the  desperate  heroism  of  the  pioneers  and  the  sickening 
slaughter  of  the  flower  of  Kentucky's  soldiery,  constitute  one 
of  the  most  familiar  and  interesting  episodes  of  Western  his- 
tory." 

To  this,  the  following  is  added  :  "  But  the  part  played  in 
it  [battle  of  the  Blue  Licks]  by  the  principal  actor,  Girty, 
has  for  some  reason  been  substantially  ignored  by  the  writers 
who  have  treated  the  event  during  the  entire  century  that  has 


llixtory  of  the   Oirlys, 


elnpBcd  since  its  occurrence.  The  Uordcrcrs  of  1782,  exas- 
perated at  Estill's  defeat,  inflamed  by  tlio  burning  of  Craw- 
ford, and  lashed  into  a  fury  of  mortification  and  grief  over 
this  lust  and  great  disaster,  were  in  no  mood  to  admit  the 
ability  of  the  man  they  hated  and  despised  as  a  renegade. 
The  disaster  was  charged  entirely  to  the  recklessness  of  the 
hot-headed  McGary  and  the  odious  Girty  was  treated  with 
silent  contempt.  The  example  thus  set  seems  to  have  been 
followed  by  all  the  W(  atern  chroniclers  since  that  day.  But, 
viewing  now  the  cold  I'acts  with  e^  '  •  v.ndimned  by  prejudice 
or  passion,  it  becomes  evident  that  Uie  soldiership  of  Girty 
had  more  to  do  with  the  defeat  of  the  gallant  pioneers  than 
the  rashness  of  McGary." 

As  to  what  has  been  published  heretofore,  showing  Captain 
Caldwell  to  have  been  in  command  at  the  battle,  see  Ilaldi- 
mand  to  Carleton,  October  10,  1782,  in  Vermont  Historical 
Society's  Collections,  Vol.  II,  p.  304  ;  Albach's  Western  An- 
nals (1857),  p.  395  ;  McBride's  Pioneer  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p. 
208 ;  Roosevelt's  The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  pp.'  191- 
207,399-404.  ■■■''\L:^'--'):\:-%'-'i  ■■:'':■./-  'i' 

Note  V. — There  has  been  heretofore  a  diversity  of  published 
statements  as  to  which  of  the  three  Girty  brothers  (Simon, 
James,  and  George)  was  in  the  expedition  to  Wheeling  in  1782. 
Knapp,  in  his  History  of  Ashland  County  (Ohio),  p.  508,  says  : 
"  Connected  with  this  expedition  was  the  notorious  James 
Girty."  Another  account  is  to  the  effect  that  George  Girty 
was  with  the  Indians  and  had  command  (see  An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  p.  276) ;  still 
another  that  Simon  was  the  Girty  who  lead  the  savages ;  but, 
as  we  have  shown,  the  two  last  named  did  not  leave  Captain 
Caldwell. 

"When  the  attack  [on  Fort  Henry,  Wheeling]  began,  there 
were  but  about  twenty  efficient  men  to  oppose  nearly  four 
hundred  savages  led  on  by  James  Girty." — Dr.  Geo.  W. 
Hill,  in  the  Ashland  (0.)  Press,  November  26,  1874.  This  is 
copied  in  Beach's  Indian  Miscellany  (see,  for  the  whole  ac- 


History  of  the  airtya.  209 

count,  pp.  r)l-r)4).  So  far  as  this  relates  to  Jaiiioa  Girty,  the 
statoment  that  ho  was  present  is  correct,  but  erroneous  as  to 
his  having  command  of  the  savages.  Anotlior  error  of  Dr. 
Ilill,  besides  making  the  number  of  savages  too  »reat,  is  that 
which  makes  their  determination  to  assail  Wheeli  ig  an  after- 
thought :  "Arriving  at  that  point  [the  ruins  of  the  "  Mo- 
ravian "  Indian  towns  on  the  Tuscarawas]  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion arose  as  to  the  exact  destination  of  the  expedition.  After 
some  consultation  in  council,  as  ilie  expedition  to  Kentucky 
was  proving  successful,  it  was  decided  that  the  Indian  army 
should  proceed  to  and  attack  the  small  fort  or  block-houso 
at  what  is  now  the  city  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia." 

NoTK  VI. — General  Clark,  in  marching  against  the  princi- 
pal Shawanese  town  on  the  Miami  river,  in  retaliation  for 
"  Blue  Licks,"  left  the  Ohio  river  on  the  4th  of  November, 
17H2,  with  one  thousand  and  fifty  men,  reaching  the  Indian 
village,  now  Piqua,  Ohio,  on  the  tenth,  in  the  evening,  com- 
pletely surprising  its  occupants.  Every  thing  the  Shawanese 
possessed  was  destroyed,  except  such  articles  as  might  be  use- 
ful to  the  troops.  The  British  trading  post  at  the  portage 
above — "Lorimer'a,"  but  afterward  usually  written  "Lora- 
mie's  " — shared  the  same  fate.  "  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was 
ten  scalps,  seven  prisoners,  and  two  whites  retaken."  Clark 
lost  one  killed  and  had  one  wounded.  (See  his  Official  Re- 
port, printed  in  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  401, 
402.) 

14 


210  Hhfory  of  thr  dirfiju. 


CIlArTKli  XXII. 

The  nsiwrt  of  peace  between  tlic  Unitetl  States  and  Great 
Britain  tlid  not  readi  Fort  Pitt  until  May,  17H8,an(l  cxcurniona 
into  tlie  settlements  by  HUiall  war-parties  of  savages  were  still 
carried  on.  Simon  (Jirty,  from  the  Sandusky,  led  warriors  to 
Nine-mile  Run,  within  five  miles  of  Pittsburgh,  where  they 
took  some  scalps.  This  was  just  at  the  time  when  the  fact 
became  known  at  the  fort  that  hostilities  had  been  declared  at 
an  end.  To  commemorate  this,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stephen 
Bayard,  then  in  command  of  the  post,  in  the  absence  of  Gen- 
eral Irvine,  was  firing  a  salute,  while  the  doath-dealing  Av<^rk 
of  Girty  was  going  on ;  the  sounds  of  the  cannon  being  dis- 
tinctly heard  by  him. 

A  lad  named  John  Burkhart  was  captured.  He  was  asked 
by  Girty  the  meaning  of  the  firing.  The  boy  told  him  that 
there  was  peace.  This  the  renegade  did  not  believe,  so  he 
took  his  youthful  prisoner  to  Detroit,  but  DePeyster  sent  him 
back  in  care  of  a  person  returning  to  Pittsburgh,*  Young 
Burkhart  was  kindly  treated  by  Girty  during  his  journey  through 
the  wilderness — another  instance  of  humanity  to  be  passed  to 
his  credit.  This  raid  was  the  last  of  Girty's  incursions  during 
the  Revolution  against  the  border  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
or  into  any  of  the  American  settlements.  He  never  again 
visited  his  native  state  painted  and  plumed  as  a  savage,  to  imbrue 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  countrymen.  But  he  remained 
as  interpreter  in  tke  employ  of  the  British  Indian  Depart- 
ment on  half-pay — on  a  "  pension  "  as  it  was  called  f — making 
at  first  his  head-quarters  at  Detroit,  as  there  was  no  longer  a 
necessity  for  his  remaining  upon  the  Sandusky,  he  having  been 


•  Washinnton-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  418. 

t  Howe's  Hiiilorical  Collections  of  Virginia,  p.  367. 


JliHlory  of  the  Girli/n.  211 

recalled  from  tlio  Ohio  wiMcrncHs  hy  DoPcyHtor.-i'  Ilowevor, 
before  wo  (liHinisa  him  from  hin  sojourn  iimoni^  the  Wyundots 
as  interpreter  and  warrior,  attention  \h  properly  called  to  one 
of  the  many  absurd  traditions  with  which  his  name  is  asso- 
ciated— this  time  in  connection  with  that  of  Samuel  Brady, 
who  hatl  been  captured,  according  to  the  relation,  by  the  In- 
dians : 

"  Brady  was  taken  [a  prisoner]  to  the  Sandusky  villages,'  so 
the  story  goes,  "and  as  ho  was,  and  had  been  for  years,  the 
most  noted  and  feared  white  man,  there  was  great  rejoicing 
amongst  the  Indians  at  his  capture,  and  great  preparations 
and  parade  were  made  for  torturing  him.  Kunners  were  sent 
to  all  the  neighboring  Indiana,  with  the  news  that  Brady  was 
a  prisoner,  and  every  Indian  that  got  the  news  was  there  on 
the  day  set  for  his  execution.  A  very  large  body  of  Itidians, 
old  and  young,  wore  collected  together. 

"  Brady  said  that  when  he  was  first  taken  to  Sandusky, 
there  was  something  in  one  of  the  chiefs  which  struck  him 
very  forcibly.  He  soon  became  satisfied  that  he  had  some- 
where seen  him  before.  And  after  close  observation  and  ex- 
amination, he  became  satisfied  that  this  person  was  Simon 
Girty,  the  boy  who  was  brought  up  with  him  as  a  brother.  Ho 
took  the  first  opportunity  he  could  get  to  say  to  him  that  he 
knew  him  as  Simon  Girty.  Ho  told  him  who  he  was,  and  re- 
lated transactions  that  took  place  when  they  were  boys  and 
that  he  could  not  possibly  have  forgotten.  For  some  time 
Girty  refused  to  know  him,  or  even  to  understand  a  word  of 
English ;  but  at  last  he  owned  himself  as  Simon  Girty.  He 
was  at  this  time  a  noted  chief  amongst  the  Indians,  and  was 
noted  as  being  the  most  savage  amongst  the  savages. 

"Another  tradition  of  Girty  was,  that  Brady  and  he  were 


*  "The  great  struggle  in  which  the  savages  hud  been  so  actively  engaged 
■was  now  over,  and  Girty,  resigning  for  a  season  the  ambitions  of  military 
life,  betook  himself  again  to  his  old  desultory  occupations  of  trader,  hunter, 
and  interpreter." — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  '269.  But 
the  change  was  simply  this:  he  dropped  for  the  time  all  warlike  endeavors 
against  his  countrymen,  simply  continuing  his  occupation  us  interpreter. 
That  he  was  never  a  trader  will  more  fully  appear  in  a  subseijuent  chapter. 


212  History  of  the,  Girtya. 

young  together  and  intimate  acquaintances  and  associates; 
that  Girty  was  at  one  time  a  leader  in  the  excursions  against 
the  Indians,  but  for  some  reason  he  left  the  whites,  joined 
with  and  became  a  celebrated  and  savage  chief  amongst  the 
Indians. 

"  Brady  plead  with  Girty  at  first  to  assist  him  to  escape  ; 
that  he  could  do  it  without  the  fear  of  detection  ;  that  from 
their  early  associations  and  friendship,  he  was  bound  to  do  it. 
He  used  and  urged  by  every  reason  and  argument  he  could 
think  of  to  induce  him  to  do  so,  but  without  eflFect.  Girty 
would  have  but  little  conversation  with  him,  and  refused  to 
assist  him  in  the  least. 

"As  the  time  for  Brady's  execution  drew  nigh,  be  begged 
of  Girty  to  furnish  him  with  the  means  to  take  his  own  life 
and  escape  the  tortures  preparing  for  him,  but  all  Avithout 
eflFect.  The  time  for  his  execution  arrived ;  the  fires  were 
lighted,  and  the  excitement  among  the  Indians  became  in- 
tense. Their  pow-wows  had  commenced,  and  the  circle 
around  him  was  drawing  closer,  and  he  began  sensibly  to  feel 
the  eflfects  of  the  fire.  The  withes  which  confined  his  arms 
and  legs  were  getting  loose  by  the  eflfects  of  the  fire,  and  he 
soon  found  he  could  at  any  time  free  himself  from  them. 
He  watched  his  opportunity,  when,  in  the  excitement  of  the 
scene,  a  fine  looking  squaw — a  squaw  of  one  of  the  chiefs — 
ventured  a  little  too  near  him  for  her  own  safety  and  entirely 
within  his  reach.  He,  by  one  powerful  exertion,  cleared 'him- 
self from  every  thing  by  which  he  had  been  confined,  caught 
the  squaw  by  the  head  and  shoulders  and  threw  her  on  the 
top  of  the  burning  pile,  and  in  the  confusion  that  followed 
made  his  escape."  *        r  ;'^'  -:.•  ^  "    - 

At  Detroit,  in  July,  1783,  DePeyster  gathered  together  the 
chiefs  of  eleven  Indian  nations,  comprehending  all  the  tribes 
as  far  south  as  the  Wabash  and  the  Great  Miami.  At  this 
council  the  services  of  Simon  Girty  as  interpreter  were  brought 
into  requisition.     Colonel  DePeyster  informed  the    savages 

•  See  the  letter  of  Frederick  Wadsworth  in  tnict  No.  29,  published  by  the 
Western  Reserve  and  Northern  Ohio  Historical  Society,  December,  1876. 


Rkiory  of  the  Girtys.  213 

that  peace  was  at  hand  and  counseled  them  to  bury  the 
hatchet.  He  then  praised  them  for  their  valor,  and  dismissed 
them  with  presents. 

After  five  years  of  residence  among  the  Indians,  Simon  Girty 
now  left  (so  far  as  actual  and  continuous  living  was  concerned) 
the  wilderness  and  its  dusky  occupants,  never  to  return. 
When  making  his  home  with  the  Mingoes  and  Wyandots,  he 
did  not  become,  as  many  have  supposed,  one  of  these  people, 
adopting  their  style  of  dress,  falling  in  with  all  their  habits, 
hunting  with  them,  and  going  with  them  to  their  councils  at 
Detroit  as  an  Indian — he  was  never  considered  by  these  peo- 
ple as  one  of  their  number.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  from 
August,  1778,  to  August,  1783,  not  much  more  than  half  his 
time  was  spent  with  these  savages.  He  was  constantly  "on 
the  wing  " — "  flying  about,"  as  the  British  reports  of  that  pe- 
riod so  frequently  aflirm — now  in  the  wilderness,  now  at  De- 
troit. At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  not  so  much 
enamored  of  Indian  life  as  his  brother  James,  and  the  latter 
was  not  so  much  charmed  with  it  as  their  brother  George. 

Late  in  August,  1783,  Simon  Girty  was  visited  at  De- 
troit by  his  brother  Thomas  and  his  half-brother,  John 
Turner.  The  truth  was  that,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
both  the  last-named  were  somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the  turn  af- 
fairs had  taken.  Neither  had  the  cause  of  his  country  deeply 
at  lieart.  During  the  war,  both  had  been  suspected  of  tory 
proclivities,  and  there  is  a  tradition  current  that  during  the 
early  days  of  that  conflict,  Turner  had  actually  been  arrested, 
but  nothing  was  proven  against  him  and  he  was  discharged. 
The  object  of  their  journey,  which  will  now  be  explained, 
shows  that  their  patriotism  was  not,  at  the  date  of  their  visit, 
of  a  genuine  character.  "  Three  men,"  wrote  DePcyster,  on 
the  ninth  of  October,  to  Brigadier-General  Maclean,  from 
Detroit,  "  are  lately  arrived  froii  Redstone  creek  [now 
Brownsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania].  They  [that  is, 
two  of  them — Thomas  Girty  and  John  Turner]  are  brothers 
to  our  interpreters,  the  Girtys,  and  [one,  Nathaniel  McCarty, 
to]  a  McCarty  lately  killed.     The  sole  intent  of  their  journey 


214  History  of  the  Oirlys. 


is,  to  see  what  encouragement  they  will  meet  [with]  if  they 
settle  under  the  British  government,  [they]  assuring  me  also 
that  several  hundred  will  be  glad  to  come  oft',  as  they  see 
nothing  but  persecution  preparing  for  such  as  were  not  hearty 
in  the  American  cause."  * 

But  the  mission  of  the  visitors  to  Detroit  was  a  failure — why, 
it  is  not  known  positively,  although  the  fact  that  the  persecu- 
tions which  were  expected  did  not  follow  in  their  cases,  doubt- 
less had  something  to  do  with  it.  Both  Thomas  Girty  and 
John  Turner  remained  in  their  own  country  and  became  loyal 
and  good  citizens. 

In  the  fall,  the  different  Western  tribes  in  British  interest 
were  again  assembled  in  council ;  this  time  at  Sandusky,  and 
by  Sir  John  Johnson,  then  Superintendent-General  of  In- 
dian Affairs.  He  made  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  Indians  to 
stand  up  for  their  rights  as  against  the  Americans,  counseling 
them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  again  ratlicr  than  yield  to  the 
latter  the  possession  of  their  lands.  Simon  Girty  was  also 
present  at  this  gathering,  acting  as  interpreter. 

The  next  year  [1784],  being  one  unusually  free  from 
Indian  assemblages,  gave  Simon  Girty  time  to  turn  his 
thoughts  upon  a  subject  of  a  wholly  different  character  from 
that  which  had  heretofore  burdened  his  mind.  In  short,  he 
resolved  to  m<arry.  But  the  object  of  his  affections  was  much 
younger  than  himself  and  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians.  How 
much  genuine  love  there  was  on  either  side,  in  the  affair,  is 
the  merest  conjecture.  She  who  was  to  become  his  wife  was 
Catharine  Malott,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  captured 
upon  the  Ohio  river  in  1780 f — a  girl  then  in  her  teens,  but 
now  grown  to  womanhood.  To  her,  a  savage  life  was  more 
terrible   than   death — she  would   even   marry  Girty  would  he 

*  MS.  letter,  Huldimund  Papers.  That  the  visitors  were  "  lately  arrived 
from  Redstone  creek,"  implies  (at  least  so  far  as  Girty  and  Turner  were 
connerned)  that  they  were  lasily  fom  there,  where  they  had  been,  probably, 
to  get  a  list  of  such  as  might  desire  to  change  their  habitations.  The  three 
gave  to  DePeyoter  the  names  of  twenty-throe  persons  besides  themselves, 
all  of  whom,  save  two,  had  families.     A  copy  of  iYta  list  is  bofore  me. 

t  Ante,  p.  116. 


•History  of  the  Girtys.  215 

daviso  some  means  for  her  escape  from  captivity  rather  than 
remain  with  the  Indians — this  is  doubtless  the  correct  view  to 
take  of  the  matter.  And  Girty,  who  had  made  her  acquaint- 
ance in  the  Indiaa  country,  was  not  slow  in  planning  for  her 
release,  making  a  trip  for  that  express  purpose  to  the  tribe 
where  she  was  living ;  for  the  maiden  was  "  fair  to  look  upon  ;" 
and,  in  her  old  age,  it  is  said,  her  comeliness  did  not  forsake 
her. 

It  was  in  August,  1784,  that  Girty,  on  his  way  out  of  the 
wilderness,  having  in  charge  the  one  who  was  soon  to  become 
his  wife,  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river.  Here,  on 
the  Canada  side  of  that  stream,  they  were  soon  after  married ; 
and  here  they  at  once  took  up  their  abode,  at  a  point  less  than 
two  miles  below  the  present  Amherstburg,  Essex  county.*  In 
the  vicinity,  a  settlement  had  already  been  commenced. 

"  I  take  the  opportunity  of  Commodore  Grant's  going  to 
Quebec,"  wrote  the  then  lieutenant-governor  of  Detroit  to 
the  governor  of  Canada,  to  inclose  to  your  excellency  a  list 
of  the  names  of  those  who  claim  Indian  lands  in  the  vicinity 
of  this  place,  from  grants  recorded  in  the  recorder's  office 
and  as  I  understand  by  the  knowledge  of  the  commanding 
oflficers  here  since  the  year  1780,  by  which  it  will  appear  your 
excellency's  orders  to  me  to  discountenance  such  proceedings, 
is  something  too  late  to  have  any  effect,  as  almost  all  the 
land  between  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  on  both  sides  the 
strait  [Detroit  river]  is  claimed,  and  a  great  part  settled  upon 
and  improved.  If  it  is  your  excellency's  pleasure  this  should 
be  stopped  nothing  but  your  excellency's  public  and  positive 
orders  will  effect  it.  As  Lieut.-Governor  Hamilton  knows 
most  of  the  claimants,  he  can  inform  your  excellency  many  of 
them  are  very  unworthy  any  indulgence  in  that  way. 

"  I  have  consulted  Mr.  McKee  upon  the  most  probable 
method  of  obtaining  a  tract  for  the  Crown  to  be  distributed 

•  In  An  HistoricHl  Account  of  the  Expedition  Hgninst  Sandusky,  under  ' 
Col.  William  Crawford,  in   1782,  p.  198,  it  \a  erroneously  stated,  in   effect, 
that,  in  1795,  Oirty  settled  just  below  Maiden  and  married  there.    The 
date  wag  1784. 


816  History  of  the  Girtys. 


as  your  excellency  may  think  proper,  and  he  is  of  opinion 
with  me,  that  a  strip  of  two  or  three  leagues  deep  on  the 
strait  between  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  may  easily  be  ob- 
tained, but  that  a  greater  quantity  might  give  umbrage  to  the 
nations  on  the  lakes.  He  likewise  tells  me  the  pur'^'iase  which 
has  been  made  at  Niagara  has  not  been  made  knowa  to  the 
lake  Indians,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  they  will  not  be 
pleased  with  the  boundaries  extending  so  far  up  Lake  Erie. 

"  I  am  informed  several  of  the  reduced  provincial  officers 
and  many  of  the  soldiers  wish  to  settle  on  the  south  side 
of  Detroit  rather  than  any-where  else.  Several  have  built 
upon  and  improved  lands  who  have  no  other  pretension  than 
the  [lake]  Indians'  consent  to  possession  ;  Captains  Bird  and 
Caldwell  are  of  the  number,  at  a  place  that  they  have  called 
Fredericksburg  [Amherstburgh]  ;  besides  all  which,  there  pre 
some  concessions  of  lots  in  the  town  of  which  I  have  not  yet 
got  a  full  account."  * 

It  was  less  than  a  month  after  this  letter  was  written  that 
Simon  Girty  determined  to  locate  on  a  site  chosen  by  him  i:ii- 
mediately  after  his  marriage,  which  tract  was  washed  along 
its  western  boundary  by  the  Detroit  river,  he  having,  however, 
at  the  time  no  other  right  "than  the  [lake]  Indians'  consent 
to  possession ;"  the  same  that  was  relied  upon  by  Captains 
Bird  and  Caldwcll.t 


*  Jehu  Hay  to  General  Haldimand,  July  22, 1784.— MS.  letter,  Haldimand 
Papers.  "  During  the  same  season  [1784],  a  settlement  was  made  .  .  . 
at  Amherstburg  [Maiden]  by  tho  Loyalists." — Cannifl''8  Hi.st()ry  of  Canada, 
p.  182. 

t  "  Hero  [at  Fort  Maiden,  in  1706]  ho  [Simon  Girty]  found  many  war- 
riors of  his  own  tribe  preparing  to  settle  on  lands  granted  them  as  allios  of 
the  crown." — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  273.  IJy  "his 
own  tribe"  is  here  meant  the  Wyandots;  but  no  lands,  at  this  pt-riod,  were 
granted  the  Detroit  Wyandots,  "as  allies  of  the  crov/n,"  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  learn,  at  or  near  Fort  Maiden;  and  certainly  none  became  the 
property  of  the  Sandusky  Wyandots.  Hay's  letter  of  1784,  when  Girty  really 
settled  near  what  was  afterward  Fort  Maiden,  speaks  of  tho  beist  method,  it 
■will  be  noticed,  of  obtaining  a  tract /or  the  erownfrom  the  Indiana — not /or 
the  Indians  from  the  crown. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  217 


Note  I. — "Girty  was  now  [after  the  battle  of  the  Blue 
Licks]  by  far  the  most  prominent  and  influential  leader  among 
the  Ohio  Indians,  and  was  dreaming  of  still  greater  military 
achievements,  when  fortunately  for  the  distressed  and  weak- 
ened pioneers  his  career  as  a  soldier  was  checked  for  a  while 
by  the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence,  but  not  before  he 
had,  according  to  Bradford,  made  a  narrow  escape  from  the 
swiftly  moving  forces  of  George  Rogers  Clarke,  '  the  Napoleon 
of  the  West,'  who  pursued  him  to  the  valley  of  the  Miami. 
The  autumn,  so  dreaded  by  Boone,  instead  of  bringing  In- 
dians, brought  the  glad  tidings  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities, 
an  event  which  crushed  all  the  hopes  of  the  savages  of  ever 
recovering  Kentucky — hopes  which  seemed  just  after  their 
great  victory  at  the  Blue  Licks  to  be  on  thr  very  verge  of  a 
glorious  realization.  Girty  learned  with  disgust  of  the  return 
of  peace  while  at  the  head  of  an  Indian  force  operating  about 
Fort  Pitt,  and  the  news,  strange  to  say,  was  first  made  known 
to  him  by  the  salutes  of  rejoicing  fired  from  the  very  fort  that 
he  had  shamelessly  abandoned  and  whose  downfall  he  had  so 
confidently  predicted." — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV,  p.  269. 

It  is  error  to  declare  (1)  tliat  Simon  Girty,  after  the  battle 
of  the  Blue  Licks,  was  by  far  the  most  prominent  and  influen- 
tiiil  leader  among  the  Ohio  Indians ;  (2)  that  he  was  dreaming 
of  still  greater  military  achievements  [than  at  the  Blue  Licks]  ; 
and  (3)  that  afterward  he  made  a  narrow  escape  from  "  Clarke," 
who  pursued  him  to  the  valley  of  the  Miami. 

Again :  That  the  savages  north  of  the  Ohio,  after  the  battle 
of  the  Blue  Licks,  had  hopes,  which  then  seemed  to  be  just  on 
the  verge  of  realization,  of  recovering  Kentucky,  is  an  unwar- 
ranted statement.  And  it  may  be  added  that  Simon  Girty 
was  never  a  soldier  during  the  Revolution  in  Fort  Pitt  (except 
in  the  first  half  of  1775  as  a  Virginia  partisan  under  Major 
Connolly,  who  called  it  Fort  Dunmore) ;  he  never,  therefore, 
shamelessly  abandoned  it ;  and  never  confidently  predicted  its 
downfall,  so  far  as  the  writer  of  this  narrative  has  been  able 
to  discover. 


218  History  of  the  Girti/s. 

• 

Note  II. — It  lias  only  been  within  late  years  that  any  thing 
has  appeared  in  print  as  to  the  marriage  of  Simon  Girty. 

"  Catherine  Malott,  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  family,  was 
in  her  fifteenth  year  at  the  time  of  the  capture  [of  the  Malotts 
already  mentioned  in  this  narrative]  and  was  carried  to  one 
of  the  Shawnee  [Delaware]  towns  on  Mad  river  [it  was  on 
the  Scioto].  Simon  Girty  seems  to  have  come  across  her  on 
one  of  his  circuits  among  the  various  Indian  towns,  and  fell 
violently  in  love  with  her.  This  was  about  three  years  after 
her  capture,  and  while  her  mother  was  known  by  Girty  to  be 
in  Detroit  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  her  family  from  cap- 
tivity. Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  Girty  had  been  employed 
by  Mrs.  Malott  to  trace  up,  if  possible,  her  lost  children. 
[This  about  Mrs.  Malott  is  error.]  However  this  may  be,  he 
found  Catherine  now  grown  and  very  pretty,  and  adopted  into 
an  Indian  family  [of  the  Muncey  tribe  or  clan  of  Delawares]. 
They  refused  to  give  the  girl  up;  but,  on  Girty's  promising  to 
bring  her  back  after  she  had  seen  her  mother  in  Detroit,  he 
succeeded  in  getting  Catherine  away."— McKnight's  Our 
Western  Border,  p.  423.   :       \  • 

The  following  is  a  more  recent  account;  nevertheless,  as 
will  be  seen,  it  contains  mistakes.  Miss  Malott  was  never  a 
resident  of  Detroit,  and  was  not,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
captured  by  the  Shawanese  : 

"  It  was  during  the,  to  hira  [Simon  Girty],  monotonous  calm 
of  the  first  year  after  the  war,  1783,  that  he  secured  a  white 
wife  by  marrying  Catharine  Malotte,  a  young  lady  about  half  as 
old  as  himself,  and  reputed  to  have  been  at  that  time  the  beauty 
of  Detroit.  There  is  an  air  of  romance  even  about  his  marriage. 
His  wife,  like  himself,  had  been  a  victim  of  a  border  tragedy 
and  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians.  A  party  of  settlers,  in- 
cluding her  own  family,  while  descending  the  Ohio  in  a  flat- 
boat,  seeking  new  homes  in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky,  were  fired 
into  by  a  band  of  Shawanese,  who  seized  the  boat,  killed  sev- 
eral of  the  party,  and  carried  into  a  miserable  captivity  all 
the  survivors,  including  the  then  young  girl,  Catharine  Ma- 
lotte.    She  was  released  through  the  interposition  of  Girty. 


History  of  the  Girtyx.  219 


Gratitude  paved  the  way  for  love,  and  when  her  deliverer  re- 
turned from  the  war  as  the  victor  of  the  I>lue  Licks,  she 
turned  away  from  her  red-coated  and  more  civiliyx'd  admirers 
of  the  British  post  [Detroit]  and  accepte*!  their  strange  and 
notorious  white  savage  confederate." — Magazine  of  American 
History,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  269,  270. 

Note  III. — That  ^imon  Girty,  immediately  after  his  mar- 
riage, took  up  his  residence  in  Canada,  below  Amherstburg,  is 
fully  established.  He  was  frequently  in  Detroit  afterward, 
which  has  led  some  writers  to  assert  that  he  lived  there;  but 
this  is  error.  His  determination  to  settle  where  he  did  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  he  could  be  a  resident  of  Canada,  and  at 
the  same  time  secure  to  himself,  as  he  believed,  a  valuable 
tract  of  land ;  and  also  because  it  Avas  a  very  accessible  point 
for  him  (still  engaged,  as  he  was,  in  the  British  Indian  De- 
partment), with  Detroit  on  one  side  and  the  Ohio  Indians  on 
the  other,  the  close  relations  of  these  savages  with  his  de- 
partment not  having  been  particularly  interrupted  by  the  es- 
tablishing of  peace.  The  Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  p.  273,  not  only  gives  the  wrong  date  for  his  set- 
tling in  Canada  (1790),  but  adds  :  "As  this  society  (about 
Maiden),  Indians,  refugees  and  British,  was  the  most  home- 
like Girty  could  expect  to  find,  the  soil  fertile,  the  I'egion 
sufficiently  wild  and  abounding  with  game,  and  no  war  prom- 
ising immediate  excitement,  he  settled  with  his  family  on  a 
piece  of  land  at  the  head  of  Lake  Erie  and  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  below  Maiden." 


220  History  of  the  Oirtys. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  acknowledging  by  Great  Britain  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  could  it  have  been  imme- 
diately followed  by  the  yielding  possession  to  the  latter  of  the 
military  posts  of  the  former  in  the  West,  would  have  brought 
at  once  to  terms  the  various  Indian  nations  therein  located, 
and  the  loss  of  the  fur  trade  to  the  English  would  have  been 
the  result.  But  possession  was  withheld;  and  it  was  of  vital 
importance  to  that  traffic  that  the  different  tribes  should  con- 
tinue to  occupy  their  hunting-grounds  north-west  of  the  Ohio. 
To  stir  up  an  animosity,  or,  rather,  to  keep  alive  the  war 
spirit  engendered  in  the  late  conflict,  was  the  policy  of  the 
traders.  And  the  emissaries  of  Great  Britain  were  not  slow, 
as  we  have  already  shown,  in  urging  the  Indians  to  stand  up 
for  what  they  told  them  were  their  rights. 

It  was  aid  (first  covert  and  then  open)  given  the  savages  by 
the  English,  which  finally  brought  on  between  them  and  the 
Americans  actual  war.  A  powerful  agent  in  its  instigation 
was  Simon  Girty.*  He  is  now  suddenly  brought  forward  as 
a  leading  character  for  mischief  to  the  United  States.  For 
the  next  ten  years,  nearly,  he  stands  forth,  as  will  be  shown,  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  West.  To  him  much  is  to  be  charged 
in  bringing  about  the  discomfiture  of  one  of  our  armies  and 
the  loss  of  another.  And  yet,  until  quite  recently,  so  little 
had  been  recorded  of  his  career  during  this  period,  that  what 
had  found  its  way  into  the  current  histories  of  the  West  was 
only  to  the  effect  that,  some  years  after  his  marriage,  he  was 
comparatively  quiet,  attending  to  the  affairs  of  his  growing 
family,  and  largely  occupied  in  trading  with  the  Indians. 

Troops  raised  under  resolutions  of  Congress  of  the  3d  of 
June,  1784,  were  embodied  in  what  was  known  as  the  First 

•  Journal  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Heart,  p.  72, 


History  of  the  Girti/x.  221 

American  Regiment,  in  command  of  which  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Josiah  Ilarmar.*  It  was  determined  to  hold  a  treaty 
with  the  Western  Indians  at  Pittsburgh,  and  mess'nges  were 
sent  into  the  Indian  country  beyond  the  Ohio,  inviting  the 
various  tribes  to  meet  at  that  place.  The  troops  (Ilarniar's) 
raised  in  Pennsylvania  were  ordered  to  march  there ;  and  by 
the  last  of  October  two  detachments  had  arrived  out.  The 
United  States  Commissioners  to  hold  the  treaty  were  Arthur 
Lee,  Richard  Butler,  and  .George  Rogers  Clark.  They  did 
not  meet  in  Pittsburgh  until  the  5th  of  December,  when,  be- 
cause of  the  season  being  so  far  advanced,  and  for  other  rea- 
sons, it  was  determined  to  hold  the  treaty  at  Fort  Mcintosh. 
There  the  troops  immediately  marched,  where  chiefs  of  the 
Wyandots,  Chippewas,  Delawares,  and  Ottawas,  together  with 
the  three  government  Commissioners  just  named,  were  after- 
ward assembled ;  and  there,  early  in  January,  1785,  a  treaty 
was  held  and  articles  duly  signed. 

Could  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  after  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Mcintosh,  have  been  left  to  themselves — could  they  have 
followed  out  (without  the  fur  trader  and  the  British  agent  in- 
terfering) the  dictates  of  their  own  better  judgments,  a  good 
understanding  would  doubtless  have  continued  between  them 
and  the  Americans.  The  result  of  that  treaty  was  already 
having  its  effect  upon  the  Shawanese  on  the  Mad  river  and  to 
the  westward,  notwithstanding  they  were  not  represented  at 
the  meeting  with  the  United  States  Commissioners,  for  it  was 
soon  manifest  that  they  too  were  desirous  to  treat  with  the 
Americans ;  but  just  then  came  the  British  fur  traders  from 
Detroit,  first  to  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares  upon  the  San- 
dusky and  then  to  the  other  tribes,  sounding  the  note  of  alarm 
that  peace  only  meant  the  driving  of  the  nations  from  their 
homes  and  their  hunting-grounds.  And  Simon  Girty  also 
followed  with  his  harangues,  which  were  far  more  potent  for 
mischief  than  were  the  declarations  of  the  traders.  Thus 
•was  the  seed  of  disaffection  sown  among  the  Ohio  Indians  just 

*  Journal  uf  Capt.  Jonathan  Heart,  p.  86,  note  2. 


000 


Jlixlory  of  the  Qirtyn. 


at  the  time  when  the  American  government  wiia  using  every 
efTort  to  treat  with  the  various  tribes  and  bring  about  a  per- 
manent understanding  with  them. 

It  was  one  of  the  articles  of  the  Fort  Mcintosh  treaty  that 
"  three  chiefs,  one  from  among  the  Wyandot  and  two  from 
among  the  Delaware  nations,"  should  "  be  delivered  up  to  the 
Commissioners  of  the  United  States,  to  be  by  them  retained 
till  all  the  prisoners,  white  and  black,  taken  by  the  said  In- 
dians, or  any  of  them,"  should  be  restored. 

Simon  Girty  was  now  wholly  under  the  direction  of  McKee 
— as  completely  so  as  he  had  been  in  the  Revolution  under 
that  of  Hamilton,  of  Lernoult,  or  of  DePeyster.  His  general 
movements  in  the  Indian  country — in  the  Ohio  wilderness — 
were  all  at  the  bidding  of  his  old-time  friend,  still  agent  in 
the  British  Indian  Department.  lie  did  not  go  among  the 
savages  after  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  had  been  proclaimed,  to  live  with  them,  but  as  a  Brit- 
ish emissary,  to  counsel  them  as  dictated  to  him  by  McKee, 
and,  in  the  end,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  to  go  to  war  with 
them,  as  circumstances  might  best  require. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1785,  Colonel  Ilarmar,  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Mcintosh,  wrote  the  Secretary  of  War  of  the 
United  States  as  follows  (which,  it  will  be  seen,  is  confirmatory 
of  the  statement  as  to  the  evil  effects  produced  by  the  wiles 
of  the  fur  traders  and  Girty) : 

"  The  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations  have  brought  in  their 
prisoners  (fifteen  in  number),  agreeably  to  treaty,  .and  the 
hostages  left  in  my  possession  are  now  dismissed.  These  na- 
tions are  friendly,  and  I  believe  wish  to  cultivate  a  good  un- 
derstanding with  the  Americans.  The  Shawanese  make  great 
professions  of  peace,  and  are  desirous  of  a  treaty  being  held 
with  them.  The  Cherokees  are  hostile,  and  have  killed  and 
scalped  seven  people  near  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  about  three 
hundred  and  seventy  miles  from  hence. 

"  Speeches  have  been  continually  sent  by  the  British 
from  Detroit  to  the  Indians  since  the  treaty,  and  I  have  good 
intelligence  that  several  traders  have  been   amongst   them, 


IIiKlory  of  the  Girhj».  223 

using  all  lucnns  to  make  them  entertain  a  bad  opinion  of  the 
Americans.  One  Simon  Girty,  I  am  informed,  lias  been  to 
Sandusky  for  that  purpose.  I  have  taken  every  means  in  my 
power  to  counteract  their  proceedings,  and  have  directed  the 
Indians  not  to  listen  to  their  lies,  but  to  tie  and  bring  in  here 
any  of  those  villains  who  spread  reports  among  them  in- 
jurious to  the  United  States,  in  order  that  they  may  be  pun- 
ished."* 

Of  the  regularly  authorized  agents  of  the  British,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  (Jirty  was  the  very  first  one  to  revisit 
the  Ohio  wilderness,  to  awaken  in  the  minds  of  the  savages 
animosities  against  the  United  States.  And  he  played  well 
his  part,  as  the  sequel  shows. 

The  General  Government  resolved  to  hold  a  conference  with 
the  Western  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  and 
messengers  were  dispatched  to  the  various  tribes  inviting 
them  to  the  meeting.  But,  since  the  treaty  at  Fort  Mcintosh 
in  the  previous  January,  stirring  events  had  transpired  in 
the  wilderness  west.  The  intrigues  of  Girty  and  the  fur 
traders  with  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  before  mentioned, 
awakened  the  slumbering  war-spirit  of  some  of  the  braves 
of  these  tribes  ;  and  now,  for  tlic  first  time,  savage  aggressions, 
wholly  independent  of  Great  Britain,  though  stimulated  by 
her  agents,  took  place  ;  five  or  six  people  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Itockhocking  river  falling  victims  during  the  summer  to 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  And,  at  the  Tuscarawas, 
these  aggressions   were   afterward  repeated.     Indeed,  at  the 

*  St.  Cliiir  Piipers,  Vol.  II,  pp.  6,  7.  See  also  Memoirs  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvaniii,  Vol.  VII,  p.  417,  where  the  same  is  jjiven,  with  a 
number  of  sentences  oinilted;  but  w!:nt  is  j;iveii  follows  the  originiil  closer 
thim  the  other.  Com|)Hre,  in  tlii*  connection,  Hcmt's  .loiirniil,  pp.  71-73. 
Tlie  MiigHzine  of  Anierii'an  IIi.>-tory,  Vol.  XV,  p.  '270,  siiys:  "The  Indians 
at  this  time,  1785,  anil  for  year.j  after,  were  constantly  agjjravatcd  by  the  en- 
croachment of  the  whites  upon  their  Morth- western  lands,  and  certainly 
Girty  did  his  best  lo  fan  the  increasing  flame,  which  finally  resulted  in  llar- 
mar's  campaign  of  1790."  I'hi'  accuracy  of  this  statement  as  to  "encroach- 
ments," in  1785,  of  the  white-;  upon  the  North-western  lands  of  the  Indians 
is  doubtful.  The  Indians  in  interest  had  acluiowledged  the  paramount 
rights  of  the  United  Stales  lo  ail  lands  "encroached  upon"  by  the  whites 
during  that  year. 


824  71  info  ry  of  the  Cirfi/a. 

very  time — that  is,  in  tho  latter  part  of  Septcmher,  ITH'),  and 
in  tho  early  dayn  of  October  followiiif:^ — when  Richard  Uutler, 
one  of  the  Cominissioiier.s  of  tlie  United  States,  waw  passing 
down  the  Ohio,  on  his  way  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami, 
to  tlio  treaty  to  be  there  hehl,  a  council  had  convened,  near 
the  Delaware  village  of  New  Coshocton,  three  miles  north  of 
the  present  site  of  Hellcfontaine,  in  Ligan  county,  Ohio,  at 
•which  were  chiefs  of  the  Delawares,  Wyandots,  Shawaneae. 
Mingoes,  Cherokecs,  I'ottawattamies,  Kickapoos,  and  Miamis, 
•with  belts  and  speeches  from  the  Wcatenons,  Ottawas,  Chip- 
pewas,  anil  tlie  Fox  nations,  to  form  an  alliance  against  tho 
Americans.  Simon  Oirty,  also,  had  no  sooner  heard  of  tho 
intended  treaty  at  the  nioutli  of  the  Miami  than  he  hastened, 
along  with  William  Caldwell,  from  Detroit  to  tho  Sandusky, 
to  use  his  utmost  endeavors  to  prevent  tho  Delawares  and 
Wyandots  from  attending  the  conference.*  Thence,  Girty 
passed  on  to  the  Shawanese,  employing  every  means  in  his 
power  to  stop  those  Indians  also  from  going. f 

Richard  Butler,  United  States  Commissioner,  with  Captv^.in 
Walter  Finney  and  his  company  of  infantry,  from  Fort  Mc- 
intosh did  not  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  until  the 
twenty-second  of  October.  Two  days  after,  a  place  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio,  just  above  the  junction  of  the  two 
rivers,  was  fixed  upon  as  a  proper  one  to  be  occupied  while 
holding  the  treaty,  and  orders  were  immediately  issued  to 
clear  it  of  trees.  The  same  day,  George  Rogers  Clark,  another 
of  the  government  Commissioners,  arrived,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fifth.  Captain  Finney  "  began  to  lay  out  and  clear  the  ground 
for  four  block-houses  and  quadrangular  work,  which  was 
pushed  on  with  great  alacrity  by  himself  and  officers."  To 
this  post  was  given  the  name  of  Fort  Finney.     By  the  arrival, 

*  For  the  fiict  that  Girty  and  Captain  CakhvoU,  "of  the  British  Rangers," 
..ore  at  the  Delaware  and  Wyandot  towns  in  October,  1785,  persuading  the 
Indians  not  to  go  to  the  treaty  at  the  Big  Miami,  see  MeCormick's  State- 
ment, in  St.  Clair  Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  11,  note;  and  Leith's  Statement,  in 
same,  p.  683. 

t  Taylor's  Ohio,  p.  450. 


IliHlory  of  the   dirttjH.  22.') 

on  the  tliirtoiMilli  of  NovonilxT,  of  Siitiuicl  II.  Parsons,  tlic 
Hoiird  of  (Joinniissioricrs  was  filled  and  tlio  l)iisinoss  of  treat- 
ing with  iho  sava^^es  wiis  ready  to  be  entered  upon  ;  however, 
hut  few  Indiiins  liad  arrived.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  was  hito 
in  January,  17H(>,  before  articles  had  been  agreed  upon,  iind 
when  higned  (which  was  on  the  first  day  of  February),  only 
the  SI  awanese  of  the  Indian  nations  were  fiubscribers,  nlong 
with  the  United  States  Coniniissioner.s.  Tliis  treaty  is  known 
in  history  as  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Finney. 

By  article  sixth  of  this  compact,  the  United  States  granted 
to  the  Shawanese  "  lands  within  their  territory  to  live  and 
hunt  upon,  beginning  at  the  south  line  of  the  lands  allotted 
to  the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations,  at  the  place  where  the 
main  branch  of  the  Great  Miami,  which  falls  into  the  Oliio, 
intersects  the  said  line ;  then  down  the  river  Miami  to  the 
fork  of  that  river  next  below  the  old  fort  which  was  taken  by 
the  French  in  one  thousand  seven  hundre<l  and  iifty-two  ; 
thenco  due  west  to  the  River  de  la  I'anse ;  then  down  that 
river  to  the  river  Wabash ;"  beyond  which  lines  none  of  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  were  to  settle  or  disturb  that 
nation  in  its  settlements  and  possessions.  These  Indians  re- 
linquished to  the  United  States  all  title  or  pretense  of  title 
they  ever  had  to  the  lands  east,  west,  and  south  of  the  east, 
west,  and  south  lines  before  described. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  same  policy  was  pursued  toward 
the  Shawanese  in  this  treaty  as  was  pursued  toward  the 
Wyandots  and  Delawares  in  the  one  at  Fort  Mcintosh  the 
year  before ;  that  is,  both  were  based  upon  the  opinion  of 
Congress  that  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783  with  Great  Britain 
absolutely  invested  the  government  with  the  fee  of  all  the  In- 
dian lands  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  that  they 
had  the  right  to  assign  or  retain  such  portions  as  they  should 
judge  proper.  Enough  information  was  obtained  at  Fort 
Finney  by  the  United  States  Commissioners  to  make  it  certain 
that  the  chief  cause  of  the  disturbance  in  the  West  by  the 
Indians  was  owing  to  the  wiles  of  men  (like  Simon  Girty) 
15 


226  Hhtory  of  the  Giriij». 

kept  in  employ  by  the  British  Indian  agent,  and  to  some  traders 
who  wished  to  monopolize  the  peltry  trade.  These  designing 
parties  had  much  the  advantage  of  the  Americans.  They 
were  constantly  among  the  Indian  nations,  and  there  had  been 
no  counteracting  influence  brought  directly  to  bear  by  the 
United  States. 

It  was  in  the  previous  April,  that  the  settlement  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Scioto  river. was,  as  mentioned  by  llarmar,  broken 
up  by  the  Cherokees.  These  Indians  continued  their  hostil- 
ities. The  close  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain  and  the  call- 
ing in  of  the  Indian  braves  by  that  power  hiid  little  or  no  ef- 
fect upon  these  bands,  who  inhabited  a  few  villages  in  various 
parts  of  the  North-west.  They  were  not  satisfied  to  wreak 
their  vengeance  upon  emigrants  who  had  crossed  over  to  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio,  but  carried  their  forays  into  Kentucky 
and  what  is  the  present  West  Virginia. 

And  now  the  Wabash  Indians,  as  they  had  not  come  for- 
ward to  the  treaty  at  Fort  Finney,  joined  these  hostiles  in 
their  attacks  upon  the  Americans.  Their  incursions  became 
so  galling  that  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  on  the  16th  of 
May,  1786,  brought  the  subject  to  the  attention  of  Congress. 
By  this  time,  the  Shawanese,  also,  in  open  disregard  of  their 
treaty  stipulations,  showed,  unmistakably,  their  warlike  in- 
tentions; for  already  had  Simon  Girty  and  other  emissaries 
from  Detroit  reached  that  tribe  upon  the  head-waters  of  the 
Great  Miami,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  counteracted  the 
policy  determined  upon  at  their  late  conference  with  the 
United  States  Commissioners.  But  the  principal  work  for  mis- 
chief was  done  by  Matthew  Elliott,  who  had  taken  up  his  res- 
idence with  the  Indians  last  mentioned,  at  one  of  their  villages. 

To  the  letter  sent  by  the  Virginia  governor  to  Congress, 
that  body,  on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  replied  that  they  were 
desirous  of  giving  the  most  ample  protection  in  their  power 
to  the  citizens  of  the  Un.Lod  States,  and  that  they  had  directed 
their  commandant  (Colonel  Harmar)  on  the  Ohio,  to  detach 
two  companies  of  infantry  to  the  rapids  of  that  river  (Louis- 
ville).    They  requested  the  governor  to  give  orders  to  the 


Huiory  of  the  Girty».  227 

militia  of  Kentucky  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  unite 
with  the  federal  troops  in  such  operations  as  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  latter  might  judge  necessary  to  protect  the 
frontiers.  This  proved,  in  the  end,  a  declaration  of  war 
against  the  Western  Indians,  though  not  so  intended  by 
Congress  at  the  time ;  for  "  an  Indian  war,"  wrote  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  to  Colonel  Harmar,  "  disagreeable  at  all  times, 
would  be  peculiarly  distressing  in  the  present  embarrassed 
state  of  the  public  finances  ;  therefore,  it  must  be  avoided  if 
possibly  consistent  with  the  interest  and  dignity  of  the  United 
States."  "  The  emissaries,"  he  continued,  "  who  are  stimu- 
lated by  the  British  officers  or  their  agents,  will  be  industri- 
ous to  urge  the  Indians  to  open  hostilities;  it  will  be  your 
duty  to  counteract  them  ;  and  I  shall  flatter  myself  that  you 
will  be  effectually  able  to  accomplish  it."  But  the  sequel  will 
show  how  futile  were  his  efforts  against  these  "emissaries." 

Simon  Girty,  by  the  first  of  June,  had  returned  from  the 
Shawanese  towns  to  the  Sandusky,  along  with  McKee  and 
Elliott,  and  some  Shawanese,  when  the  principal  chiefs  of 
the  Wyandrts  were  persuaded  to  go  along  with  them  to 
a  treaty  to  be  held  at  Niagara  by  Sir  John  Johnson,  who  had 
invited  them  and  the  Six  Nations  to  be  present  on  that  occa- 
sion. The  three  emissaries  just  named,  with  forty  Indians, 
among  Avhom  were  three  Wyandot  chiefs  and  one  each  of  the 
Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  living  upon  the  lower  Avaters  of  the 
Maumee,  sailed  from  Lower  Sandusky,  on  the  seventh,  under 
Commodore  Grant,  giving  out  that  they  (McKee,  Elliott,  and 
Girty)  were  going  to  Quebec  to  purchase  lands  on  the  north 
side  of  the  lake  (Erie)  from  he  Indians.  This  was  only  a 
pretense  to  cover  the  knowledge  of  their  going  to  meet  Sir 
John,  which  these  Indians  were  desirous  should  be  kept  from 
the  Americans,  they  being,  ostensibly,  at  peace  with  the  lat- 
ter, and  constantly  affirming  that  they  desired  to  so  remain.* 

*  Col.  Josiah  Harmar  to  Brig.-Gen.  Knox,  July  3,  1786,  in  Momoirs  of 
the  Historical  Society  of  Ponnsylvanitt,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  419,  420.  However,  to 
obtain  lands  was  really  one  of  the  objects  in  view  in  the  three  going  to 
Niagara. 


228  Hutory  of  the.  Girfi/x. 

Besides,  us  Great  Britain,  too,  was  at  peace  with  the  United 
States,  it  wouhl  not  do  to  make  public  the  fact  that  the 
SuptM'intendent-General  of  British  Indian  Affairs  in  America 
had  presumed  to  invite  a  nation  living  upon  the  soil  of  the 
United  States  to  a  treaty  in  Canada. 

At  Niagara,  Johnson  told  the  Indians  they  would  be  no 
people  in  a  short  time  if  they  did  not  unite.  They  should  all 
be  one  people;  and  what  they  did,  cither  to  make  war  or 
peace,  would  then  be  of  some  avail.  Of  course,  the  savages 
well  understood  this  to  be  directed  against  the  United  States; 
and  a  much  larger  assemblage,  in  the  following  December, 
brought  together  by  Thayendanegea  (Captain  Brant),  in  Can- 
ada, set  forth  effectively  the  same  policy. 

At  the  Niagara  gathering,  Simon  Girty,  McKee,  and  El- 
liott obtained  the  promise  of  certain  lands  in  Canada,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Detroit  river,  as  a  reward  for  their  services 
during  the  Rgvolution.  Girty,  having  previously  obtf.ined,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  at  least  a  tacit  consent  from  the  Lake 
Indians  to  a  tract,  was  already  living  upon  it;*  and  it  was 
here  that  his  daughter,  Ann,  was  born,  late  in  the  fall  of  1786. 
A  child  born  in  the  first  half  of  the  previous  year  had  died  in 
infancy. 

Encouraged  by  the  presence  of  so  many  Indians  from  the 
country  south  of  Lake  Erie,  in  the  summer,  at  Niagara, 
another  council  was  planned  by  Sir  John  Johnson,  to  be  held 
in  Canada,  at  the  Huron  (Wyandot)  village,  on  the  Detroit 
river,  in  hopes  to  bring  together  a  large  representation  of  the 
tribes  living  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  north-west 
of  the  Ohio,  where  the  same  policy  could  be  urged  more  ef- 
fectively of  uniting  the  Western  nations,  in  opposition  to  the 
United  States  acquiring  the  Indian  lands,  as  had  been  done  in 
the  previous  treaties  held  with  them.  Captain  Brant,  of  the 
Mohawks  in  Canada,  was  put  forward  to  guide  the  movement. 
To  this  end,  he  visited  the  Sandusky.  Representatives  from 
some  of  the  Six  Nations — from  the  (Hurons)  Wyandots,  Ot- 
tawas,  Miamis,  Shawanese,  Chippewas,  Cherokees,  Delawares, 

•  The  exact  locality  will  hereafter  be  described. 


Hinfory  of  the  Girtys.  229 

Pottawattamies,  and  Wabash  nations — assembled  at  the  ap- 
pointed place,  and,  on  the  18th  of  December,  1786J  agi-ecd 
upon  a  message  to  Congress,  the  tone  of  which  was  pacific — 
provided  the  United  States  made  no  encroachments  upon  their 
lands  beyond  the  Ohio.  It  was  but  the  reflex  of  what  had 
been  said  by  Johnson  at  Niagara,  and  was,  to  the  United 
States,  a  grand  deception  ;  no  chief  put  his  sign-manual  to 
the  document ;  but,  in  lieu  thereof,  as  a  cunningly  devised 
scheme,  appeared  the  names  of  each  nation,  with  the  proper 
emblems  following  them. 

The  address  did  not  rjacli  Congress  until  the  next  July, 
when  action  was  taken  upon  it,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned. 
At  this  council,  Simon  Girty  was  extremely  active,  along  with 
McKee  and  Elliott,  in  stirring  up  the  minds  of  the  savages 
against  the  Americans.  Many  other  emissaries  and  some  fur- 
traders,  from  Detroit,  were  present  to  fan  the  flame  of  discon- 
tent. In  their  message,  the  Indians  proposed  a  council  with 
the  Americans,  at  some  half-way  place,  the  ensuing  spring, 
and  they  recommended  to  the  United  States  that,  in  the  mean- 
time, their  surveyors  and  other  people  be  prevented  from 
crossing  the  Ohio. 

Note  I. — During  the  year  1785,  many  families  went  down 
the  Ohio  river  in  boats,  landed  at  Limestone  (now  Maysville), 
and  continued  their  route  to  such  parts  of  Kentucky  as 
pleased  them.  Among  them  was  Thomas  Marshall,  who  had 
embarked  witii  a  numerous  family  on  board  a  flat-boat,  and 
descended  the  Ohio  without  any  incident  of  note  until  he 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  when,  about  ten 
o'clock  at  night  (so  we  have  the  relation),  he  was  hailed  from 
the  northern  sliore  of  the  river  by  a  man  who  announced 
himself  as  James  Girty,  the  brother  of  Simon.  The  boat 
dropped  slowly  down  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of 
the  sliore,  and  the  man  made  a  corresponding  movement 
along  the  beach.  The  conference  was  kept  up  for  several 
minutes. 

After  the  person  on  shore  had  given   his  name,  he  inquired 


230  Hidory  of  the  Girtya. 


as  to  that  of  the  master  of  the  boat.  When  toUi  it  was  Mar- 
shall, he  said  he  knew  him  (Marshall)  well  and  respected  him 
highly.  He  had  been  posted  there,  he  said,  by  order  of  his 
brother,  Simon,  to  warn  all  boats  of  the  danger  of  permitting 
themselves  to  be  decoyed  ashore.  The  Indians,  he  said,  had 
become  jealous  of  his  brother,  who  had  lost  the  influence 
which  he  formerly  held  amongst  them,  and  now  deeply  re- 
gretted the  injury  he  had  inflicted  upon  his  countrymen, 
.and  wished  to  be  restored  to  their  society.  Simon,  in  order 
to  convince  the  Americans  of  the  sincerity  of  his  regard,  had 
directed  him  to  warn  all  boats  of  the  snares  spread  for  them. 
Every  eff'ort  would  be  made  to  draw  passengers  ashore.  White 
men  would  appear  upon  the  bank,  and  children  would  be 
heard  to  supplicate  for  mercy.  "  But,"  continued  the  man, 
"  do  you  keep  the  middle  of  the  river  and  steel  your  heart 
against  every  mournful  application  you  may  receive."  Mar- 
shall thanked  him  for  his  intelligence,  and  continued  his 
journey. 

He  who  is  responsible  for  publishing  this  story  adds  :  "  From 
this  it  would  appear  that  [Simon]  Girty's  situation  was  by  no 
means  enviable.  The  superior  intelligence  which  had  first 
given  him  influence,  gradually  attracted  envy.  Combinations 
were  probably  formed  against  him,  as  they  are  in  civilized 
life,  against  every  man  who  is  guilty  of  the  unpardonable  of- 
fense of  mounting  rapidly  above  his  fellows.  Ambition, 
jealousy,  intrigue,  combinations  for  particuhir  objects,  prevail 
as  strongly  among  savages  as  among  civilized  beings,  and  spring 
in  each  from  the  same  source — a  tender,  passionate,  inordi- 
nate love  of  self — a  passion  the  most  universal,  deeply  rooted, 
and  infinitely  diversified  in  its  operations  of  any  in  existence — 
a  passion  as  strong  and  easily  offended  in  the  degraded  Hot- 
tentot as  in  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  in  the  superannuated  old 
woman  as  in  the  blooming  belle — the  only  human  passion 
which  age  can  not  tame  or  misery  extinguish,  or  experience 
cure,  or  philosophy  expel ;  which  flutters  as  strongly  in  the 
jaws  of  death  as  in  the  vigor  of  life,  and  is  as  buoyant  and 
ridiculous  in  the  breast  of  the  philosopher,  as  in  that  of  a  vil- 


History  of  the  Girfi/s.  231 

lage  beauty.  Nothing  more  was  ever  heard  of  Girty's  wish 
to  be  restored  to  his  station  in  society ;  but  his  warning,' by 
whatever  motive  dictated,  was  of  service  to  many  families." 

As  to  the  foregoing  tradition,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say, 
that  if  such  a  conversation  with  Marshall  as  is  therein  related 
actually  took  place,  the  man  claiming  to  be  James  Girty  was 
an  imposter,  for  at  that  time  James  was,  i*^  may  be  premised, 
quietly  trading  with  the  Indians  at  his  establishment,  where  is 
now  located  St.  Marys,  Ohio.  (For  this  relation  concerning 
Thomas  Marshall,  see  McClung's  Sketches  of  Western  Ad- 
venture, pp.  195-197.)  The  subsequent  history  of  Simon 
Girty,  as  given  in  this  and  the  following  chapters,  shows  the 
fallacy  of  the  story  of  his  "  deeply  regretting  the  injury  he 
had  inflicted  upon  his  countrymen,"  and  of  his  wishing  •'  to 
be  restored  to  their  society."  Whether  his  influence  with  the 
savages  was  on  the  wane  will  also  presently  appear. 

The  Magazine  of  American  History,  V^ol.  XV,  p.  270,  has 
this  to  say  concerning  the  account : 

"About  two  years  after  his  marriage,  1785,  Girty  did  an 
act  of  kindness,  as  singular  as  it  was  unexpected,  and  the  mo- 
tive for  which  has  never  been  clearly  explained.  According 
to  Colonel  Thomas  Marshall,  he  posted  his  brother,  James 
Girty,  who  was  himself  a  thorough  savage,  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha,  to  warn 
immigrants  traveling  by  boat  of  the  danger  of  being  decoyed 
ashore  by  the  Indians.  McClung  says  that  this  timely  notice 
was  of  service  to  many  families,  and  that  those  who  did  not 
heed  it  suff"ered.  It  is  asserted  that  Girty  did  this  to  curry 
favor  with  the  Americans,  and  to  help  pave  the  way  for  his 
return  to  the  people  he  had  abandoned,  bat  nothing  has  been 
produced  to  support  this  opinion.  His  conduct  otherwise  did 
not  indicate  it." 

As  to  James  Girty  being  at  this  time  "  a  thorough  savage," 
it  may  be  remarked,  that  his  employment  did  not  indicate  it. 
He  had  a  cruel  and  savage  nature,  it  is  true,  but  he  had  by  no 
means  given  himself  up  to  the  simple  and  lazy  life  of  an  In- 


232  Jlislory  of  the  Girtys. 

(lian,  living  upon  scanty  food  like  the  red  men,  hunting  as 
they  did,  dressing  like  them,  or  depending  upon  gifts  from 
the  British,  or  obtaining  the  necessaries  of  life  by  selling 
skins  to  traders.  He  was  himself  a  trader,  and  a  thrifty  one, 
as  will  hereafter  be  shown.  It  may.  be  mentioned  that  Mar- 
shall did  not  assert  that  the  man  who  hailed  him  was  m  fact 
James  Girty — only  that  he  announced  himself  as  such.  It 
can  not  be  affirmed  then,  as  a  verity,  that,  "according  to  Col- 
onel Thomas  Marshall,  he  [Simon]  posted  his  brother,  James 
Girty,"  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio,  to  give  warning 
to  emigrants.  And  if,  as  stated  by  McClung,  "  this  timely 
notice  was  of  service  to  many  families,"  its  effectiveness  in  no- 
wise depended  upon  the  one  hailing  being  actually  the  person 
he  represented  himself  to  be,  but  upon  the  claim  that  he  was 
James  Girty. 

Note  II. — The  depredations  of  the  Wabash  Indians,  in  the 
summer  of  1786,  into  Kentucky  were  so  frequent  and  deplor- 
able that  George  Rogers  Clark  commanded  an  expedition 
against  them,  whicii  proved  "  a  shameful  failure."  Not  so,  a 
campaign  under  Benjamin  Logan  against  the  Shawanese  upon 
the  Mad  river.  With  five  hundred  Kentuckians,  he  "  burned 
eight  towns,  laid  waste  many  hundreds  of  corn-fields,  killed 
twenty  braves,  and,  with  eighty  prisoners,  hastened  back  to 
Kentucky."  (Compare  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of 
the  United  States,  Vol.  I,  pp.  385-388,  and  the  authorities 
there  cited ;  also  other  current  Western  histories,  local  and 
general.)  The  Cherokees,  also,  it  may  be  said,  met  their 
deserts. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  233 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  year  1787,  Simon  Girty  was  fre- 
quently at  Detroit,  going  there  from  his  Ijome  in  Canada.  On 
one  of  these  visits,  he  was  called  npoji  by  James  Moore,  a  young 
American,  to  assist  him  in  obtaining  from  another  American, 
but  a  loyalist,  his  sister,  whom  the  latter  had  purchased  from  a 
Shawanese  Indian.  Moore  had  himself  been  a  captive  ;  and, 
before  giving  the  result  of  his  application  to  Girty  for  help, 
it  will  be  interesting  to  learn  the  particulars  of  the  young 
man's  captivity,  which  began  the  4th  of  September,  1784,  in 
App's  Valley,  Virginia.  He  was  then  in  the  fourteenth  year 
of  his  age.  His  father  had  sent  him  to  a  waste  plantation, 
about  two  miles  and  a  quarter  away,  to  get  a  horse  to  go  to 
mill.  He  had  reached  a  point  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
horses,  when  he  was  suddenly  confronted  by  Indians,  one  of 
•whom  took  him  prisoner.  There  were  three  of  the  savages. 
They  were  Shawanese  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mad  river, 
in  what  is  now  Logan  count}',  Ohio.  He  was  captured  by  the 
leader  of  the  band.  Black  Wolf  by  name.  It  was  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  Indians 
started  with  the  boy  on  their  return  down  the  north  fork  of 
Sandy  river. 

After  about  twenty-two  days'  traveling,  Wapatomica  (still 
a  Shawanese  town)  was  reached.  They  had  crossed  the  Ohio 
between  the  mouths  of  Guyandotte  and  Big  Sandy,  on  a  raft 
made  of  dry  logs  tied  together  with  grapevines.  They  lay 
one  day  on  the  Scioto,  where  the  Indians  made  pictures  on 
the  trees  of  three  warriors  and  their  prisone'r.  The  boy  was 
not  taken  directly  to  Wapatomica,  but  to  the  residence  of  the 
Black  Wolf's  half-sister,  some  distance  away,  to  whom  he  was 
sold  for  an  old  gray  horse.  }   ,  —    — 

In  about  two  weeks  after  young  Moore  had  been  sold,  he 
was  sent,  in  company  with  the  half-brother  of  the  squaw  who 


234  •        HiHlory  of  the  Oirtijs. 

had  purchased  iiiiii  and  others,  on  a  winter's  hunting  excur- 
sion. They  wore  very  unsuccessful.  The  sufferings  of  the 
boy  from  hunger  and  cohl  were  very  great,  as  he  had  scarcely 
any  clothing.  The 'snow  was  knee  deep,  and  his  blanket  too 
short  to  cover  him.  Often,  in  lying  down  and  drawing  his 
feet  up  to  get  them  under  the  blanket,  he  would  get  so  be- 
numbed that  he  could  not  without  considerable  exertion  get 
his  limbs  stretched  out  ng;iin.  At  his  return  from  hunting,  in 
the  spring  of  17H5,  he  was  given  up  to  Matthew  Elliott,  who 
acted  as  trader  among  the  Shawanese  and  as  British  emissary. 
But  the  old  woman  who  had  purchased  him,  finding  it  out, 
got  very  angry,  threatened  Elliott,  and  got  him  back.  Young 
Moore  was  then  living  at  Pigeontown,  not  far  from  the  pres- 
ent West  Liberty,  Ohio.  He  was  frequently  at  the  Shawa- 
nese Indian  town  of  Mac-a-cheek,  where,  some  time  in 
April,  there  was  held  a  large  dance.  This  dance  young 
Moore  was  permitted  to  attend,  in  company  with  the  Indian 
to  whom  he  belonged.  He  there  met  with  a  French  trader, 
who  took  a  fancy  to  him  on  account  of  his  having  a  resem- 
blance to  one  of  his  sons.  The  Frenchman  purchased  him  for 
fifty  dollars  in  brooches  and  other  trinkets,  and  took  him 
to  Detroit.  He  was  treated  by  his  purchaser  with  great 
kindness,  living  with  him  until  October,  1789,  the  latter 
ever  ready  to  give  him  up  whenever  any  chance  might  pre- 
sent itself  for  his  return  to  his  friends. 

While  living  Avith  Baptiste  Ariome,  his  generous  protector, 
the  boy  always  ate  at  his  table  and  slept  in  a  good  feather  bed 
with  his  son.  In  him  and  his  wife  he  met  with  a  father  and 
mother  indeed.  Sometimes  he  went  with  Ariome  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  country.  While  on  one  of  these 
expeditions,  young  Moore  heard  from  a  Shawanese  with 
whom  he  had  become  acquainted  while  living  at  the  Mad  river 
towns,  of  the  destruction  by  the  savages  of  a  part  of  his  father's 
family  and  the  captivity  of  the  balance,  the  relator  being  one 
of  the  party  on  that  occasion.  The  event  occurred,  he  was 
told,  in  July,  1786,  and  the  circumstance  was  related  to  him 
not  long  after.     In  the  winter  following — that  is,  early  in  the 


History  of  the  Oirti/H.  •  235 

your  1787,  he  learned  that  a  sister  of  his  was  living  with  a 
white  family  some  distance  from  Detroit.  She  had  been  pur- 
chased by  a  man  named  StfickwoU,*  an  Aniorican  loyalist,  from 
the  Shawanese.  lie  "^ot  the  information  from  Stockwell  him- 
self, by  whom  he  was  told  that  he  intended  in  the  spring  to 
move  to  Frenchtown,  below  Detroit.  As  soon  as  the  young 
man  learned  that  Stockwell  had  taken  up  his  residence  there, 
he  went  to  sec  his  sister — Mary  by  name,  generally  called 
Polly  by  the  family.  lie  found  her  in  a  most  abject  condi- 
tion, almost  naked,  clothed  in  a  few  dirty  rags,  an  objec*^  of  pity 
indeed.  Her  owner  was,  of  course,  unfriendly  to  the  Amer- 
icans— a  refugee  from  his  countrymen — "  in  short,"  Moore 
declared,  "  a  man  of  bad  character  and  an  unfeeling  wretch." 
"It  is  impossible,"  he  says,  *' for  me  to  detail  my  feelings; 
sorrow  and  joy  were  combined  :  and  I  suppose  her  feelings 
on  that  occasion  were  similar  to  my  own."  Having  found 
his  sister  in  so  disagreeable  a  situation,  he  was  advised  to 
apply  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Detroit,  informing  him  of 
her  treatment,  in  order  to  effect,  if  possible,  her  release.  But, 
before  reciting  the  particulars  of  his  exertions  in  that  direction 
and  the  result,  and  of  the  part  taken  by  Simon  Girty  to  aid 
him,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  recount  briefly  the  disasters  which 
had  befallen  the  young  man's  family,  and  concerning  which  he 
had  now  obtained  from  his  sister  a  much  fuller  account  than 
from  his  Indian  acquaintance. 

James  Moore  (lather  of  young  James,  whose  captivity 
has  just  been  narrated),  his  wife,  Martha,  and  their  chil- 
dren, John,  Jane,  Mary,  and  Margaret,  were  living  in  App's 
Valley  on  the  14th  of  July,  1786,  when  the  disaster  overtook 
them  we  are  now  about  to  relate.  Another  one  of  the  family, 
Joseph  by  name,  was  away  from  home,  at  the  time,  attending 
school,  while  James,  the  second  son,  was,  as  before  related,  at 

•"My  father  was  well  acquainted  with  Simon  Girty,  with  Elliott,  Mc- 
Kee,  Caldwell,  Stockwell,  Uazle,  the  L^tleu,  and  all  the  other  renegades  in 
Canada  West;  but  there  was  very  little  of  the  entente  eordiale  between  him 
and  them."— MS.  letter  of  William  Walker,  March  21,  1872,  from  Wyan- 
dotte City,  Kansas.         ^ .___. >_-_-r— T—-^ 


280  ■  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

that  (late  living  at  Detroit  with  the  good  llaptiste  Ariome.  A 
party  of  ShawancHo  had  conic  up  Sandy  river,  crossed  over  to 
the  liead  of  Clinch,  passed  near  wiiere  Tazewell  Court-IIouso 
was  afterward  erected,  murdered  a  Mr.  Davidson  and  wife  and 
burned  their  dwelling,  and  then  passed  on  to  App's  Valley 
hastily,  before  any  alarm  could  be  given,  and  lay  in  ambush  for 
the  Moore  family.  The  savages  numbered  about  thirty.  James 
Moore,  the  father,  was  shot  dead,  while  the  mother,  with  her  four 
children,  John,  Jane,  Mary,  and  Margaret  (an  infant)  were  cap- 
tured. In  a  short  time  the  Indians  were  on  their  march  to  the 
Shawanese  towns,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  their 
prisoners  and  plunder.  The  son,  John,  was  soon  tomahawked, 
and  on  the  third  day  the  infant's  head  was  dashed  against  a 
tree  by  one  of  the  savages,  and  its  lifeless  body,  without  a 
word,  tossed  into  the  bushes  !  Upon  reaching  the  Scioto,  Mrs. 
Moore  and  her  two  remaining  children  were  shown  the  hiero- 
glyphics upon  some  trees  which  represented  her  son,  James, 
and  his  captors,  mention  of  which  has  before'been  made.  The 
mother  was  informed  that  he  was  still  in  captivity.  The  pris- 
oners were  then  taken  to  Wapatomica  and  Mack-a-cheek, 
where  they  were  v-ell  treated  by  the  Shawanese.  This  was  in 
August,  1780. 

After  a  few  days,  a  council  was  called  to  discuss  matters 
appertaining  to  the  attitude  of  the  nation  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  The  aged  chief,  Moluiitha,  made 
a  long  speech  dissuading  the  Shawanese  from  war;  but  the 
warriors  shook  their  heads  and  retired.  This  chief  was 
killed  soon  after  by  one  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Logan's  men, 
in  the  expedition  of  the  Kentuckians  before  spoken  of, 
to  the  Shawanese  towns  on  Mad  river.  Mary  Moore  was. 
taken  by  the  old  chief  to  his  wigwam,  and  treated  by  him 
with  great  kindness ;  his  actions  clearly  evincing  that  he  com- 
miserated her  condition.  But  the  mother  and  sister  were  soon 
tortured  at  the  stake  by  some  Cherokees  while  the  Shawanese 
were  on  a  drunken  frolic.  Their  sufferings  were  prolonged — 
their  agony,  what  words  can  picture  !  After  Logan's  expe- 
dition, the  Indians,  because  of  the  destruction  of  their  pro- 


HiHtory  of  the  Oirtys.  287 

visions,  and  winter  Hottinjj;  in,  Honirlif  aid  from  Detroit.  Of 
tlioHo  wlio  joiirnev(>(l  thither,  ono  was  the  Indian  with  wliorn 
lived  Mary  Moore,  llcr  SMlTeriniis  on  the  road  wore  terrible. 
Arrived  at  their  destination,  the  Indians  gave  thetiiselvcs  up 
to  drinking ;  and,  to  indulge  their  appetites,  sold  their  captives, 
among  whom  was  Mary,  who  was  purchased  by  Stockwell  for 
half  a  gallon  of  rum.  The  latter,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
took  her  to  his  home,  some  distance  away,  and  made  a  serv- 
ant of  her,  furnishing  her  with  very  little  clothing  and  com- 
pelling her  to  eat  the  most  scanty  fare.  Upon  the  moving  of 
Stockwell  to  Frenchtown,  her  brother,  James,  was  gratified 
to  meet  her  there,  grieved,  however,  at  her  cruel  treatment, 
as  we  have  seen. 

Young  Moore,  some  time  during  liis  captivity,  or  while' 
living  with  Baptiste  Ariomo,  had  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Simon  Girty.  To  him  the  young  Virginian  applied  for  assist- 
ance in  releasing  his  sister  from  the  slavish  bondage  in  which 
she  was  held  by  Stockwell.  Girty  interested  himself  in  the 
boy's  behalf,  and  the  two  laid  the  matter  before  Alexander 
McKee,  who  was  still  the  deputy  Indian  agent  of  the  British 
for  Detroit  and  its  dependencies.  McKee  had  Stockwell 
brought  to  trial  for  ill-treatment  of  the  girl,  but  her  brother 
failed,  for  the  time,  not^/ithstanding  the  aid  given  him  by  Girty, 
in  having  her  released  from  the  service  of  her  master ;  how- 
ever, it  was  decided  that,  when  an  opportunity  should  present 
itself  for  the  return  home  of  both  brother  and  sister,  the  lat- 
ter should  be  given  her  liberty.  This  event  subsequently  oc- 
curred, and  both  reached  their  friends  in  Virginia  without 
accident.* 

Simon  Girty  was  employed  during  the  year  1787  some- 
times at  his  home  attending  to  domestic  matters,  but  oftener 
at  Detroit  or  in  the  Indian  country  south,  to  do  the  bidding 
of  the  Detroit  commandant,  but  particularly  of  McKee. 

As  no  reply  had  been  received  from  Congress  to  the  address 

•  For  an  "account  of  the  captivity  and  destruction  of  the  Alooro  family 
by  the  Indians,"  see  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Virginia,  pp.  489-494; 
also,  Foote's  Sketches  of  Virginia  (1850),  pp.  606-524. 


2yH  IHxtory  of  Ihe  Qirlyif. 

sent  the  previous  full  by  tlie  Indians  iisscmbled  at  the  Wyan- 
dot village,  Canada,  but  was  expected  early  in  the  autumn  of 
1787,  a  iiuinbor  of  nations  gathered  at  tlu'  foot  of  the  Rapids 
of  the  Mauincc,  awaiting  its  arrival,  llrant  was  present  at 
the  Mauniee  council;  so,  also,  was, McKeo,  at  whose  instiga- 
tion Simon  Girty  had  visited  the  Sandusky  Indians  and  per- 
suaded both  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares  to  take  part  in  its 
proceedings.  The  Indians  sent  forward  a  request  that  any 
message  from  the  United  States  should  be  forwarded  to  them 
at  that  place,  which  was  at  the  principal  crossing  of  the  Mau- 
mee  river,  on  the  south  side  thereof;  but,  as  none  came,  the 
Indians  there  concluded  to  send  another  address,  and  to  meet 
again  at  the  same  place  the  next  year  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  answer. 

The  resolution  of  the  savages  upon  the  Maumee  to  meet 
again  upon  that  river  in  the  ensuing  year  (1788)  becoming 
known  to  Richard  Butler,  the  superintendent  of  Indian  af- 
fairs, he  resolved  to  use  every  exertion  in  his  power  to  pro- 
duce at  least  a  division  in  their  councils,  if  he  could  do  no 
better;  so  a  trusted  trader  was  sent  to  the  point  of  the  pro- 
posed gathering,  where  some  of  the  Indians  had  already  ar- 
rived. Singularly  enough,  one  of  the  messengers  dispatched 
from  Pittsburgh  to  the  Sandusky  by  Butler,  to  gather  infor- 
mation, was  Thomas  Girty,  Simon's  brother.*  The  loyalty  of 
Thomas  to  his  country,  although,  as  we  have  seen,  of  a  doubt- 
ful character  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  was  now  to  be 
depended  upon.  But  the  brothers  did  not  meet  in  the  wilder- 
ness, for  Simon,  at  that  time,  was  at  his  home  in  Canada. 

It  was  soon  developed  that  the  Wyandots  upon  the  San- 
dusky and  near  Detroit  were  anxious  to  have  the  meeting  at 
the  Wyandot  village  on  that  river ;  for  these  Indians  could 
then  exert  a  powerful  influence  in  favor  of  peaceful  measures, 
which  they  were  inclined  to,  with  the  United  States.  But  the 
arrival  at  that  village,  in  August,  of  Captain  Brant,  turned 

*  "[ThoniHs]  (iirty  and  foine  other  persons  broiiubt  iilartnini^  Accounts 
from  Sundusky." — Gonnral  Hicburd  Butler  to  St.  Clair,  July  1,  1788. — St. 
Clair  Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  47. 


J/lKtory  of  the  Giriyg.  2ai> 

the  scale  in  favor  of  tlio  Maumee  river  ns  n  place  of  meeting, 
■where  lie  attended  with  a  number  of  MoIiuwk»  and  a  few 
others  of  the  Five  Nations. 

The  Western  tribes  represented  at  the  council  were  the  Wy- 
andots  (of  Sandusky  and  Detroit),  Chippcwas,  Ottawns,  Pot- 
tawattamies,  and  Delawares ;  also  the  Shawanese,  Miamis,  and 
Kickapoos,  and  some  of  the  Sacs.  At  this  gathering  was  Mc- 
Kee,  who  sent  full  reports  of  the  proceedings  to  his  superiors. 

More  time  had  been  spent  by  Simon  Girty  since  the  be- 
ginning of  1788,  to  this  time,  at  his  Canadian  home,  than  during 
all  of  1787.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  was  active  in  his  en- 
deavors to  obey  the  behests  of  tho  Detroit  commandant  and 
Deputy  Indian  Agent  McKee.  lie  was  several  times  sent 
into  the  Ohio  wilderness  ;  and  finally  (as  during  the  year  pre- 
vious), to  the  foot  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  to  the  Indian 
conference,  at  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  Perrysburgh, 
Ohio.  Girty's  wife  remained  at  their  place  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Detroit  river,  where,  in  the  summer,  a  son  was  born, 
and  named  Thomas,  after  its  uncle  living  at  Pittsburgh. 

Governor  Arthur  St.  Clair,  of  the  North-west  Territory, 
and  Indian  Agent  Richard  IJutlcr,  had,  previous  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Indians  on  the  Maumee,  sent  invitations  to  the 
various  nations  to  meet  at  the  falls  of  the  Muskingum,  at  a 
place  afterward  known  as  Duncan's  Falls,  near  the  present 
Taylorsville,  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  to  hold  a  treaty.  The 
point  fixed  upon  was  about  seventy  miles  up  that  river  from 
its  mouth,  at  the  head  of  boat  navigation.  The  place  of  meet- 
ing was  afterward  changed  to  Fort  Ilarmar,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Muskingum. 

The  result  of  the  conference  on  the  Maumee  was  that  the 
Indians  resolved  to  go  to  the  treaty  to  be  held  at  Fort  Ilar- 
mar; but,  on  their  way  to  that  post,  they  met  a  message  from 
Governor  St.  Clair,  which  asserted  positively  that  the  obliga- 
tions of  former  treaties  must  be  carried  out.  This  caused 
Brant,  with  his  Mohawks  and  the  others  of  the  Five  Nations 
with  him,  to  turn  back ;  as  he  now  saw,  positively,  that,  as 
between  war  and  the  Ohio  river  being  made  the  boundary  of 


240  History  of  the  Girtys. 


the  Indian  lands,  the  United  States  would  choose  the  former. 
With  him  returned  not  unlv  those  Delawares  wiio  now  resided 
upon  the  Maumee,  but  the  Shawanese,  Mianiis,  and  Kicka- 
poos — the  very  tribes  that  St.  Clair  was  most  anxious  to  treat 
with,  but  which,  in  fact,  he  did  not  much  expect  to  see. 

Although,  at  the  council  held  by  the  savages  at  the  Maumee, 
Simon  Girty  played  but  a  subordinate  part,  it  was  an  effective 
one.  No  white  man  so  readily  entered  into  fellowship  with 
many  of  the  chiefs  there  assembled  as  he.  His  acquaint- 
ance with  individual  members  of  the  various  tribes  was  much 
extended.  He  spoke  with  many  o'f  them  in  their  own  tongue. 
He  was  recognized  now  more  than  ever  as  the  true  friend  of 
the  Indian.  Still,  the  peace  party  gave  him  the  cold  shoulder. 
He  was  the  mouth-piece  for  McKee  and  powerfully  aided 
Brant.  Whatever  were  their  cminsels  were  his.  In  the  meet- 
ings he  was  a  most  prominent  figure,  but  a  silent  one ;  his 
work  was  prosecuted  outside  the  council-house.  While  at  this 
gathering,  he  aided  in  obtaining  the  freedom  of  an  American 
woman  held  as  a  prisoner  by  one  of  the  Indians  attending  the 
conference.  It  was  as  creditable  to  his  magnanimity  as  were 
his  efforts  on  behalf  of  Mary  Mooro,  and  much  more  speedy 
in  its  results.  The  particulars  of  her  captivity  and  its  ter- 
mination are  interesting. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1785,  a  small  party  of  Indians 
reached  a  branch  of  the  West  Fork  of  the  Monongahela,  in 
what  is  noAv  West  Virginia,  on  a  marauding  expedition.  Here  re- 
sided an  enterprising  settler  by  the  name  of  Edward  Cunning- 
ham. A  brother,  named  Thomas,  lived  in  a  house  almost  ad- 
joining. At  the  time  spoken  of,  Edward  and  his  family  were 
in  one  cabin,  and  the  wife  of  Thomas,  with  her  four  children 
(her  husband  having  gone  east  on  a  trading  expedition),  was 
in  the  other.  Both  families  were  eating  their  dinner,  when 
they  were  attacked  by  the  savages.  The  result  was  the  kill- 
ing of  the  four  children  and  the  capturing  of  Mrs.  Thomas 
Cunningham,  while  the  family  of  Edward  made  a  successful 
defense  in  their  house,  keeping  the  Indians  at  bay  until,  fear- 


History  of  the  Girtys.  241 

ing  a  longer  stay,  the  savages  beat  a  retreat,  carrying  with 
them  their  prisoner. 

Mrs.  Cunningham  suffered  untold  mental  ond  physical 
agonies  on  her  march  to  the  Indian  towns  across  the  Ohio. 
For  ten  days  her  only  nourishment  was  the  head  of  a  wild 
turkey  and  a  few  paw-paws.  She  remained  over  three  years 
with  the  8av\.^°?,  and  finally  was  brought  by  them  to  the 
council  at  the  Maumee  last  mentioned,  where  she  saw  Simon 
Girty,  to  whom  she  appealed  for  aid  in  getting  released  from 
the  Indians,  lie  told  her  at  first  that  she  was  better  off  there 
than  at  home,  but  her  importunities  were  continued,  when  he 
declared,  in  a  jocose  manner,  that  his  saddle-bags  were  too 
small  to  conceal  her.  Mrs.  Cunningham  persevered,  implor- 
ing on  her  knees  for  his  help  to  get  her  away  from  the  sav- 
ages. His  stubborn  heart  finally  relented,  and  he  brought 
the  matter  to  the  notice  of  McKee,  who  furnished  him  with 
some  Indian  trinkets,  and  he  secured  her  ransom.  She 
reached  her  home,  finally,  in  safety.* 

No  sooner  had  the  council  upon  the  Maumee  broken  up 
and  the  Indians  departed  for  Fort  Ilurmar,  than  McKee  and 
Girty  returned  to  Detroit,  the  latter  soon  proceeding  to  his 
home  across  the  Detroit  river,  where  he  remained  during  the 
winter. 

It  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  a  war-cloud  in  the  western 
horizon  was  rising ;  and,  all  around,  there  were  portents  of  a 
coming  storm.  By  no  one  were  the  signs  welcomed  Avith 
more  delight  than  Simon  Girty.  lie  had  been  all  along  really 
for  war,  though  counseling  peace  could  the  Americans  be  kept 
from  crossing  the  Ohio,  which  he  very  well  knew  was  impos- 
sible ;  and  he  was  especially  certain  that  war  was  not  far  off, 
after  the  return  to  the  Huron  village,  on  their  way  home,  of 
the  Mohawks  led  by  Brant — upon  the  latter  informing  him, 
as  he  had  already  done  the  Detroit  commandant  and  McKee, 
of  St.  Clair's  ultimatum. 

It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  December,  1788,  that  a  suf- 

•  McKiiight's  Our  Western  Border,  pp.  714,  716. 

16 


242  History  of  the  Oirtym. 


ficient  number  of  Indians  had  arrived  at  Fort  llannar  to 
justify  St.  Clair  in  attempting  a  treaty.  The  representativea 
of  the  Six  Nations  (other  than  the  Mohawks)  came  down  the 
Ohio,  notwithstanding  Brant,  as  early  as  the  eighth  of  July, 
had  written  from  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek  to  Butler,  Ameri- 
can Indian  agent,  tliat  "  we  [the  Five  Nations]  are  preparing 
to  meet  your  council,  and  shall  be  able  to  write  you  from  the 
Miami  river  [the  Maumee  *]  what  time  you  may  expect  to 
see  us  ;  " — as  though  Ac  was  to  lead  them  to  the  treaty  and 
by  way  of  Detroit  and  the  Maumee — a  pure  deception  on  his 
part.  From  the  great  Indian  conference  came  only  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Wyandot,  Delaware,  Chippewa,  Ottawa, 
Pottawattamie,  and  Sac  nations.  To  the  demand  made  by 
these  Indians  for  the  Ohio  river  to  be  declared  the  boundary 
line,  St.  Clair,  of  course,  refused  to  listen. 

The  business  was  concluded  on  the  9th  of  January,  1789, 
and  two  separate  treaties  entered  into :  the  first  with  the  Six 
Nations  (excepting  the  Mohawks) ;  the  second  with  the  residue 
of  the  Indians.  The  first  confirmed  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stan- 
wix  of  October,  1784  ;  the  second  confirmed  and  bettered  the 
treaties  of  Fort  Mcintosh  and  Fort  Finney.  It  can  hardly 
be  said  that  the  treaties  of  Fort  Ilarmar  recognized  the  In- 
dians as  having  a  title  in  fee  to  the  lands  claimed  by  them, 
although  in  both  it  is  declared  they  did  "  release,  quit-claim, 
relinquish,  and  cede "  all  that  they  had  before  granted  by 
previous  treaties.  It  was  scarcely  yet  saying  to  them  "  you 
are  the  absolute  owners  of  certain  lands  which  we,  the  United 
States,  are  desirous  to  purchase  of  you,  and  for  which  we  vill 
pay  you  whatever  sum  can  be  agreed  upon,  or  whatever 
amount  we,  the  United  States,  think  you  are  entitled  to." 
But,  had  they  said  so,  and  had  words  of  that  import  been  in- 
corporated in  the  treaties,  it  would  not  have  changed  the 
aspect  of  affairs  in  the  least  as  to  those  Indians  who  did  not 

*  The  Muutneo  river  was  usually  spoken  of  at  that  date  an  the  "Oinoo" 
or  "  Omi,"  rometimos  as  the  "  Miami,"  or  "  Miami  of  Lake  Erie,"  often  as 
"Miami  of  the  Lakes,"  again  as  the  ''Ottawr."  frequently  abridged  to 
"Tawa."         — ~ —I . — - .__ 


History  of  the  Girtys.  243 


attend  at  Fort  Harmar,  Of  these,  one  part  was  for  war 
without  regard  to  any  boundary ;  while  the  other  was  for  the 
Ohio  river  as  a  boundary,  or  for  war  if  that  could  not  be 
agreed  upon. 

Note. — By  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  of  October  22, 
1784,  with  the  Six  Nations,  the  latter  ceded  their  claim  to  all 
territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio.  By  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Mcintosh,  concluded  January  21,  1785,  the  Wyandots  and 
Delawares  agreed  to  limit  themselves  to  the  west  side  of  a 
line  drawn  from  what  is  now  Cleveland  to  the  Tuscarawas,  and 
to  the  north  side  of  one  drawn  thence  to  the  Great  Miami 
river — through  nearly  the  center  of  the  present  State  of  Ohio. 
What  territory  was  yielded  by  the  Shawanese  at  Fort  Finney, 
February  1,  1786,  has  already  been  stated.  It  was,  therefore, 
a  captious  right  which  the  other  Western  nations  insisted  upon, 
of  claiming  the  Ohio  as  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Indians,  begotten  only  from  a  desire  to  have 
an  excuse  to  bring  on  a  war  with  the  Americans.  There  had 
been  no  encroachments  upon  "  Indian  lands  "  either  by  indi- 
viduals or  by  any  of  the  states  or  the  genernl  government; 
for  there  were  now  no  such  "  lands,"  speaking  in  general 
terms,  in  the  south  half  of  what  are  now  the  States  of  Ohio 
and  Indiana,  to  be  encroached  upon.  But  Great  Britain  de- 
termined to  use  every  means  to  induce  the  savages  to  repu- 
diate the  treaties  held  with  the  United  States — to  insist  that 
the  Ohio  must  be  fixed  upon  as  the  boundary  line  between 
the  two,  and  to  go  to  war  rather  than  yield  the  point. 


244  History  of  the  Girtyn. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  year  1789  was  one  of  comparative  inactivity  for  Simon 
Girty.  One  reason  for  this  was  that  the  Wyandots,  Chippe- 
was,  Ottawas,  Pottawattamies,  and  a  part  of  the  Dehiwares 
with  whom  he  was  the  most  intimate,  and  over  Avhom  he 
had  the  most  influence,  had  formed,  hefore  the  treaty  at 
Fort  Harmar,  a  confederation  in  order  to  uphold  peace 
with  the  United  States  by  all  the  means  in  their  power. 
Because  of  this,  and  the  death  of  the  Half  King  of  the  Wy- 
andots in  the  summer  of  1788,  he  was  received  at  the  Mau- 
mee  conference  not  with  the  unbounded  favor  he  had  expected,  ' 
although  his  influence  with  the  "war  faction"  was  great;  and 
after  the  council  broke  up,  and  he  had  returned  to  Detroit,  there 
was  still  rankling  in  his  mind  considerable  feeling  against "  the 
peace  party  "  for  their  determined  peace  talk,  and  this  feeling 
he  could  not  divest  himself  of  so  long  as  their  actions  toward 
the  United  States  were  of  a  friendly  character,  which  was  the 
case  throughout  the  year.  So  far,  then,  as  Indian  affairs 
were  concerned,  he  had  much  less  to  do  than  usual.  There 
were  no  councils  of  importance  held  by  the  tribes  near  De- 
troit. B  it  tradition,  with  her  busy  tongue,  has  made  him, 
of  course  erroneously,  an  active  participant  during  the  year 
in  some  of  the  cruel  raids  of  the  Indians  across  the  Ohio 
into  what  was  then  the  State  of  Virginia. 

"  Mr.  John  Van  Meter,"  says  one  of 'these  accounts,  "at 
one  time,  lived  in  this  fort  [Van  Meter's,  on  the  south  side  of 
Short  creek,  a  few  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Ohio 
river,  in  Ohio  county,  Virginia],  and  at  the  period  of  the  occur- 
rence narrated,  resided  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Alexander 
Walker,  Esq.,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  fort.  It 
was  during  his  occupancy  of  this  farm,  in  1789,  that  a  party  J 
of  Indians  visited  his  peaceful  doraicil,  murdered  his  wife, 
daughter,  and   two  small  sons,  taking  the  three   elder  sons    _.: 


History  of  the  Oirtyn.  245 

prisoners,  and  burning  the  house  Hannah,  the  daughter  who 
was  killed,  was  washing  at  a  spring  a  short  distance  from  the 
house  ;  she  had  on  a  sun-bonnet  and  was  stooping  over  the 
tub,  unconscious  of  danger,  when  one  of  the  savages  stealthily 
advanced,  and,  supposing  her  to  be  an  old  woman,  buried  his 
tomahawk  in  her  head.  When  the  Indians  saw  her  face  and 
perceived  that  she  was  young  and  beautiful,  they  deeply  la- 
mented their  precipitancy,  saying, 'she  would  have  made  a 
pretty  squaw.'  This  information  was  subsequently  communi- 
cated by  the  notorious  Simon  Girty,  who  was  one  of  the  party 
which  committed  the  murders."  * 

There  is  a  tradition,  seemingly  well  authenticated,  that 
some  time  during  the  autumn  of  1789,  Girty  was  visited  at 
his  home  upon  the  east  side  of  the  Detroit  river,  by  his  half- 
brother,  John  Turner,  from  Pittsburgh.  The  whole  matter 
was  kept  from  the  neighbors  and  friends  of  the  latter,  as  he 
did  not  care  to  incur  the  odium  of  having  paid  a  visit  to  one 
who  was  so  thoroughly  detested  by  all  Americans — to  one 
whose  very  name  was  still  a  terror  to  the  whole  country 
around.  The  object  of  his  journey  is  unknown ;  but  it  was 
probably  undertaken  to  close  up  some  business  affairs.  There 
is  extant  a  receipt,  which  adds  to  the  credibility  of  the  story. 
It  is  as  follows  : 

"Received  2d  January,  1790,  of  James  McKee,  Esquire, 
the  sum  of  eighteen  pounds  two  shillings  Pennsylvania  cur- 
rency, being  in  full  of  an  order  drawn  by  me  on  said  Jas. 
McKee  and  accepted  by  him  in  fiivor  of  my  brother  John 
Girty,  alias  Turner.  ills 

"  Simon  +  Girty. 
''Witness — I.  Selby,  mark 

.      M.  Elliott."  t 

Early  in  1790,  measures  were  taken  to  conciliate  the  Wa- 
bash Indians  and  those  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  but  all 

•  Doddridge's  Notes  (Revised  Ed.),  p.  308. 

f  For  a  copy  of  this  receipt,  I  am  indebted  to  Isaac  Craisr,  of  Alleghany, 
Pennsylvania.    At  an  early  day,  Turner  was  often  called  "Girty." 


24G  Ilishry  of  the.   Girli/K. 


efforts  in  tliat  direction  proved  unavailing ;  and  it  was  decided 
that  they  must  be  brought  to  terms  by  force  of  arms.  Gen- 
eral Harmar,  with  militia  from  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  his  own  regulars,  would  march  against  the 
Miamis,  where  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana,  now  stands,  while  a  force 
under  Major  J.  F.  Ilanitramck  was  to  move  against  the  sav- 
ages upon  the  Wabash,  llarmar's  force  amounted  to  nearly 
fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  men.  His  army  was  well  under 
way  by  the  3d  of  October,  from  Fort  Washington — Cincin- 
nati.    During  the  previous  months,  Girty  had  been  active. 

The  Indians,  in  1790,  had  seven  villages,  it  seems,  cluster- 
ing about  the  junction  of  the  rivers  St.  IVIary's  and  St.  Joseph, 
which  form,  as  is  well  known,  the  Maumee.  These  were,  first, 
the  Miami  village,  which  lay  in  the  forks  of  the  St.  Joseph 
and  Maumee;  second,  a  village  of  thirty  houses,  also  of  the 
Miamis,  called  Kekionga,  in  the  fork  of  the  St.  Mary's  and 
Maumee ;  third,  Chillicothe,  down  the  Maumee,  on  its  north 
bank,  of  fifty-e^ht  houses;  opposite  this  was  another  of  the 
same  tribe  (Miami)  of  eighteen  houses.  The  Deiawares  had 
two  villages  on  the  St.  Mary's,  about  three  miles  from  its 
mouth  and  opposite  each  other,  with  forty-five  houses  to- 
gether;  while  a  third  one,  of  thirty-six  houses,  was  on  the 
east  side  of  the  St.  Joseph,  two  or  three  miles  from  its 
mouth. 

The  Miami  villages  were  reached  by  Ilarmar  on  the  seven- 
teenth, and  found  deserted.  After  the  destruction  of  every 
thing  that  could  be  of  use  to  the  Indians,  the  army  began  its 
return  march,  not,  however,  until  a  detachment,  meeting  the 
savages,  had  suffered  severely  from  them.  Soon  after  this, 
another  and  larger  detachment,  under  Hardin,  met  Avith  a 
still  worse  fate.*     The  expedition  proved  a  defeat  rather  than 

•  "Tho  very  riHme  of  tho  "White  Indian  [Simon  Girty]  seemed  an  omen 
of  evil  to  the  pioneers,  for  it  was  at  'Girty's  Town,'  now  St.  Mary's,  Ohio, 
that  Hardin  was  defeatod  in  this  campaign  [that  of  Harmar,  in  1790]." — 
Magazine  of  American  History,  'S^ol.  XV,  p.  270.  This  connectinj;  Simon 
Girty  with  "Girty's  Town"  is  error;  so,  too,  placing  the  defeat  of  Hardin 
at  that  point. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  247 


a  victory.  Major  Ilamtramck  was  more  successful.  He  laid 
waste  several  deserted  villages,  and  returned  to  Vincennes, 
Indiana,  unmolested. 

"  The  military  expedition,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  of  Gen- 
eral Ilarmar,  in  1790,  against  the  hostile  Indians  in  the  north- 
west, was  the  first  one  organized  after  civil  government  was 
established  in  the  '  territory  north-west  of  the  river  Ohio.' 
General  Ilarmar  who  was  appointed  the  previous  year,  was  at 
that  time  comniander-in-chiet'  of  the  Western  Military  Depart- 
ment. The  relations  between  the  Indian  tribes  north-west  of 
tlie  Ohio  river,  and  the  frontier  settlers,  were  those  simply  of 
intensified  hostility.  The  Indians  had  undoubtedly  assumed 
their  thrcateninj:  attitude  toward  the  western  frontiersmen 
througli  the  instigation  of  the  British  agents  in  the  north- 
west— notably  of  AlexanJer  McKee  and  Matthew  Elliott.  And 
the  infamous  renegade,  Simon  Girty,  was  conspicuously  pre- 
eminent, in  rendering  such  services,  as  he  could,  favorable  to 
the  interests  of  En';;land,  and  which  would  be  as  detrimental 
as  possible  to  the  north-west,  and  to  Kentucky,  to  whose  set- 
tlement by  the  white  race  he  determined  to  interpose  all  pos- 
sible obstacles.  It  may  be  premised,  however,  that  Girty's 
movements  in  this  direction  were  dictated  more  by  his  in- 
grained and  long-cherished  hafred  of  the  western  pioneers, 
tlian  by  any  affectionate  regard  he  had  for  British  in- 
terests." * 

While  it  is  true  that  Simon  Girty,  at  this  period,  had  no 
love  for  "  the  western  pioneers,"  still,  his  hatred  did  by  no 
means  stop  at  that  point ;  there  was  a  general  antagonism  in 
his  heart  against  all  his  countrymen  who  were  not  loyalists, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions.  It  does  not  seem  that  he,  at  this 
date,  was  particularly  opposed  to  the  settlement  of  Kentucky 
by  the  whites.  He  had  already  seen  how  absurd  such  oppo- 
sition was  ;  and,  along  with  McKee  and  Elliott,  as  carrying  out 
the  policy  of  the  British  government,  he  was,  it  may  be  stated, 
advocating  among  the  Indians  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 

*  Isaac  Smucker,  in  Ohio  Statistics,  1880,  p.  14. 


248  History  of  the  Oirti/s. 

hated  Americans,  as  much  as  possible,  from  settling  on  the 
Indian  side  of  the  Ohio,  not  on  the  soulh  side. 

The  marching  of  General  Ilarnmr  aj»ainst  the  Indians  of  tlie 
Maumee,  and  of  Major  Ilamtranick  against  those  of  the  Wa- 
bash, as  the  result  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  those  savages, 
induced  the  calling  at  once  of  a  grand  council  by  the  Indians 
at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee.  The  object  was  to 
take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  the  nations  all  uniting 
against  the  Americans.  McKce  attended  the  conference  and 
put  forth  active  exertions  to  fan  tlie  hostile  spirit  of  the  red- 
men  into  a  flame.  He  summoned  Simon  Girty  from  his  home 
in  Canada.  Immediately  "  great  quantities  of  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  other  necessaries  were  sent  to  the  Maumee 
to  supply  the  Indians,"  all  under  Girty's  charge  and  that  of 
"  sonic  other  persons  from  the  garrison  of  Detroit."  *  Nothing 
was  left  undone  by  the  Deputy  Agent  of  Indian  Affairs  and 
the  commandant,  at  that  post,  in  their  power  to  do,  to  help 
the  savages,  short  of  sending  actual  reinforcements  of  British 
soldiers  to  the  Maumee. 

Girty  took  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  chiefs  who  were 
assembled  at  the  Maumee.  His  voice  was  for  sending  speeches 
to  all  the  nations  far  and  near  to  assemble  at  that  point  in  the 
early  spring  to  combat  the  forces  which  would  be  sent  against 
them.  Before  the  council  broke  up,  a  general  war  was  de- 
termined upon,  to  the  great  delight  of  all  the  British  agents 
and  traders  there  assembled,  and  to  none  more  so  than 
Girty,  whose  advice  as  to  sending  war-belts  to  the  nations  was 
adopted.  A  deputation  was  appointed  to  go  to  Quebec  to  con- 
fer with  Lord  Dorchester.  Active  measures  were  not  post- 
poned until  the  coming  spring  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  Al- 
ready the  chilling  blasts  of  winter  were  felt  at  the  north.  A 
car.ipaign,  but  not  on  a  large  scale,  was  proposed  by  Girty 
against  some  one  of  the  forts  or  stations  north  of  the  Ohio, 
to  be  carried  on  notwithstanding  the  inclement  weather.     He 

•  Col.  Thomas  Proctor's  Journal,  in  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  698. 


Hutory  of  the  Girtys.  249 


would  lead  the  force  himself.  The  proposition  was  favorably 
received  and  soon  acted  upon,     it  was  now  December,  17!'0. 

And  here  it  is  proper  for  a  moment  to  digress  somewhat 
in  our  narrative.  About  this  period,  Baker's  Station,  lo- 
cated not  far  below  Grave  creek,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the 
Ohio,  was  "attacked  by  about  throe  hundred  Indians,"  so  the 
tra<lition  runs,  "  with  Simon  Girty  at  their  head."  Tliis  was 
another  instance  of  mistaken  identity.  Girty  never  crossed 
the  Ohio  to  the  eastward  or  southward — either  into  Virginia, 
Pennsylvania,  or  Kentucky — during  tiie  Indian  war  which 
followed  the  Revolution.  The  account  goes  on  to  say  :  "  The 
whites  had  sufficient  warning  of  their  approach  to  enter  the 
fort,  and  were  prepared  for  its  defense.  When  the  Indians 
advanced  along  the  hill-side  (near  the.  base  of  which  the  fort 
stood),  Simon  Girty  called  out  to  those  in  the  fort  to  turn  out 
and  surrender.  The  voice  of  (Jirty  was  recognized  by  some 
of  the  men,  who  answered  him  by  curses,  telling  him,  if  they 
did  not  leave  before  morning  (this  being  between  sundowh  and 
dark),  they  would  come  out  and  drive  them  from  the  country. 
The  Indians,  however,  fired  upon  the  fort,  and  perceiving  that 
their  shots  would  not  take  effect  from  their  present  position, 
they  proceeded  further  up  the  hill,  in  order  the  more  easily  to 
discover  those  in  the  fort.  From  this  position,  they  engaged 
the  fort  all  the  next  day  and  part  of  the  next  night.  But  the 
whites  concealed  themselves  under  cover  of  the  walls  so  se- 
curely that  no  one  sustained  <any  injury.  The  Indians  finding 
their  eff"orts  to  be  vain,  abandoned  the  attack,  and  went  off" 
without  eff'ecting  their  purpose."  * 

In  1790,  John  Dunlap,  who  had  been  one  of  John  Cleves 
Symmes's  confidential  surveyors,  formed  a  settlement  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Great  Miami  river,  at  a  point  eight  miles  from 
where  the  town  of  Hamilton  now  is,  and  seventeen  miles  from 
Cincinnati;  "  The  county  of  Hamilton,"  says  a  writer  in 
1791,  "  lies  between  the  two  Miami  rivers.  Just  below  the 
tnouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  is  a  garrison  called  Fort  Miami ; 

*  Commiinication  of  A.  B.  Tomlinson,  in  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  II,  pp. 

352,  05P,. 


2r>0  HUtory  of  the  Girfi/K. 

at  a  small  distanco  below  thia  garrison,  is  the  town  of  Colum- 
bia. About  six  miles  from  Columbia,  is  the  town  of  Cincin- 
nati, which  is  the  county-seat  of  Hamilton  [county] ;  and 
here  is  erected  Fort  Washington,  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Federal  army.  Tiiis  fort  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  river.  Seven  miles  below  this,  is  a  settlement  of 
eiglitoen  or  twenty  families  callotl  South  Bend.  About  seven 
miles  from  this,  also  on  the  Ohio  river,  is  the  City  of  Miami 
founded  by  the  Hon.  John  Cloves  Symmes.  Twelve  miles  up 
the  Great  Miami  is  the  settlement  called  Dunlap's  Station  ; 
and  twelve  miles  up  the  Little  Miami,  is  a  settlement  called 
Covalt's  Station.  The  number  of  militia  in  these  places,  ac^- 
cording  to  the  best  accounts  I  have  received  are,  at  Colum- 
bia, two  hundred  ;  Cincinnati,  one  hundred  and  fifty ;  South 
Bend,  twenty  ;  City  of  Miami,  eighty  ;  Dunlap's,  fifteen ;  and 
at  Covalt's,  twenty."* 

The  settlers  at  Dunlap's  erected  a  fortification  for  their  se- 
curity, consisting  of  several  block-houses  built  of  logs  and  a 
number  of  cabins,  with  pickets  in  the  unoccupied  spaces  be- 
tween them,  in  the  form  of  a  square,  inclosing  a  little  more 
than  an  acre  of  ground.  TMs  situation  was  considerably  ex- 
posed, and  Indians  were  frequently  hovering  about.  The  con- 
sequence was  that,  in  the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1790- 
1791,  General  Harmar  sent  them  a  detachment  of  soldiers  for 
their  protection,  from  Fort  Washington,  consisting  of  a  lieu- 
tenant— Jacob  Kingsbury — and  eighteen  privates. 

On  the  night  of  the  7th  of  January,  17!*1,  four  men  were  en- 
camped on  the  river  bank  just  above  the  settlement.  They 
had  been  out  exploring  the  country  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Miami,  and  were  wholly  unsuspicious  that  danger  was  near. 
The  next  morning,  they  had  not  proceeded  more  than  a 
hundred  yards  from  their  camp,  when  they  Were  attacked  by 
savages,  who  fired  a  volley  of  eight  or  ten  guns.  One  of  the 
men  was  killed ;  o  z  made  prisoner,  whose  name  was  Abner 
Hunt;  the  other  two  escaped  (one  badly  wounded),  and  finally 

*  Dr.  W.  Goforth,  from  Ft.  Washington,  N.  W.  Territory,  September  3, 
1791.    See  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  Vol.  I,  p.  '200. 


IltHhn'ii  of  I  he  dh'hjs.  251 

renclicd  tlio  station  (Diinlap's),  apprising  the  garrison  of  tlio 
prcsonco  of  tlie  Indians  in  tho  vicinity.  The  next  day,  a 
party  of  six  men  went  out,  fouml  the  dead  man,  huricd  tiie 
body,  and  returned  to  tho  fort.  The  utmost  vi^^ihinre  was 
exercised  hy  the  officer  in  command,  during  that  day  and 
the  next.  Tiiere  were  in  tlie  incloaure,  besides  Lieutenant 
Kingsbury,  "  thirty-five  men  total,  ohl  and  yourjg,  sick  and 
well,  in  such  bad  works;"  also  ((uite  a  number  of  women  and 
children.  The  commander  fully  reali/eil  tho  peril  he  was  in, 
80  far  in  the  country,  with  so  small  a  force,  and  he  did  not, 
for  a  moment,  relax  his  watchfulness.  It  was  this  unusual 
caution,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  that  saved  the  station. 

Simon  CJirty,  who  had,  as  we  have  shown,  solicited  the  com- 
mand of  a  war  party,  went  on  to  the  Miami  towns  at  the  head 
of  the  Maumce,  with  the  Indians  who  lived  there  and  in  the 
vicinity,  soon  after  the  breaking  up  of  tho  council  at  the 
Rapids,  and  immediately  organized  a  force  to  march  toward 
the  infant  settlements  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio.  Their 
destination  was  Dunlap's,  the  first  that  could  bo  reached 
after  crossing  over  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Glreat  Miami, 
and  then  descending  that  stream.  They  numbered  nearly 
three  hundred. 

Girty  sent  a  few  warriors  in  advance  of  the  main  force  to 
reconnoitre  the  situation.  It  was  this  party  that  attacked 
the  four  men  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth  of  January,  mak- 
\\.^  prisoner  of  Abner  Hunt.  These  savages  returned 
leisurely  up  the  river  with  their  captive  securely  bound. 
Girty,  on  his  downward  march,  was  soon  met  and  the  whole  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  station,  arriving  in  its  immediate  vicinity  in 
the  evening  of  the  ninth,  undiscovered.  IJefore  sunrise  the  next 
morning,  Girty  and  his  Indians  suddenly  made  their  appear- 
ance, firing  a  volley  as  they  approached  the  fortification, 
which  wounded  one  of  the  soldiers.  The  commander  inside 
the  stockade  immediately  posted  his  men  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, and  the  fire  was  returned. 

The  investment  of  the  works  was  soon  made  complete, 
and  the  attack  was  kept  up  during  the  entire  day.     Attempts 


252  Hinhry  of  Ih,'  Girtyft. 

were  niiule  by  the  suvaj^cs  to  fire  tlie  ciibins  anil  pickets,  but 
these  were  foiled  by  tlie  vi^iliiiicc  iiiid  activity  of  those  within. 
During  the  niglit,  the  enemy  shot  blazing  arrows  against  the 
stockade  and  upon  the  roofs  of  the  buildings,  but  these  cfl'orts 
were  everywhere  thwarted  by  the  coolness  and  bravery  of 
the  regulars  and  settlers.  Ikd'ore  morning  two  of  the  beslege<l 
managed  to  silently  pass  out  of  the  station,  cross  the  river, 
and  hasten  toward  Cincinnati,  to  obtain  aid  from  General 
Ilarmar,  at  Fort  Washington.  On  their  way  they  met  a  force 
nnirching  rapidly  to  the  relief  of  the  place  from  Columbia 
and  Cincinnati,  alarm  having  been  given  by  some  hunters 
who  had  heard  the  firing  at  the  fort  when  it  fir.st  began,  and 
had  rightfully  concluded  it  was  attacked  by  savages.  Be- 
tween ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  the  relief  party  arrived  at  the 
top  of  the  hills  overlooking  the  plain  on  which  the  station 
was  located,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  Indians  had 
raised  the  siege  and  were  gone.  Such,  in  brief,  was  the  at- 
tack on  Dunlap's  Station,  during  which,  it  must  be  admitted 
the  enemy  evinced  under  the  leadership  of  dirty,  who  had 
with  him  his  brother  George,  a  determination  to  succeed 
that  nothing  but  the  presence  of  regulars  and  the  coolness 
of  their  commander  could  have  withstood.  But  there  was  one 
circumstance  (which  is  now  to  be  related)  which  is  but  an  ac- 
cumulation of  positive  evidence  of  the  savagery  of  Simon  at 
this  period. 

The  unfortunate  prisoner,  Abner  Hunt,  was  brought  back 
by  the  Indians  to  the  vicinity  of  the  station,  accompanied  by 
the  party  that  had  captured  him,  and,  soon  after  the  attack 
commenced,  was  placed  on  a  stump  within  speaking  distance 
of  the  garrison  and  compelled  by  Girty  to  urge  a  sur- 
render, which,  in  hope  of  saving  his  own  life,  he  did  in  the 
most  pressing  terms,  promising  that,  if  it  were  done,  life  and 
property  would  be  spared.  As  he  carried  a  flag,  the  garrison 
ceased  firing  and  listened  as  best  they  could  to  his  enforced 
plea,  but  determined  not  to  yield.  His  failure  doomed  the 
unfortunate  prisoner  to  the  stake.  He  was  tortured  with  the 
most  shocking  barbarity  during  the  night  of  the  siege.     "  The 


lliHiory  of  the  (rirfi/s.  25o 

Indiana  tied  him  to  a  sapling  witliin  eight  of  the  garrison, 
who  distinctly  heard  liis  screams,  and  built  a  large  fire  so  near 
as  to  scorch  him,  inllicting  the  most  acute  pain  ;  then,  ns  his 
flesh,  from  the  action  of  the  fire  and  the  frequent  application 
of  live  coals,  became  less  sensible,  they  made  deep  incisions 
in  his  limbs,  as  if  to  renew  his  sensibility  of  pain.  They  an- 
swered his  cries  for  water,  to  allay  the  extreme  thirst  caused 
by  burning,  by  fresh  tortures.  Finally,  when,  exhausted  and 
fainting,  [and]  death  seemed  approaching  to  release  the 
wretche<l  prisoner,  they  terminated  his  sufferings  by  apply- 
ing flaming  brands  to  his  naked  bowels." 

"They  stripped  him  naked,"  says  William  Wiseman,  who 
was  inside  the  fort,  "  pinioning  his  outstretche<l  hands  and 
feet  to  the  earth,  kindling  a  fire  on  his  naked  abdomen,  and 
thus,  in  lingering  tortures,  they  allowed  him  to  die.  Ilis 
screams  of  agony  were  ringing  in  our  ears  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night,  becoming  grndanlly  weaker  and  weaker 
till  toward  daylight,  when  thoy  ceasjJ."  * 

"  During  the  night,  '  is  the  language  of  Samuel  Ilahn,  who 
was  also  of  the  garrison,  "  and  at  a  late  hour,  finding  that 
they  could  do  nothing  with  us,  they  brought  up  Hunt,  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  fort,  for  the  purpose  of  burning  him 
alive.  Accordingly,  having  stripped  and  fastened  him  to  a 
log,  they  kindled  a  fire  of  dead  limbs  upon  his  belly,  and 
commenced  a  horrid  dance,  whooping  and  yelling  around  the 
wretched  object  of  their  revenge.  The  screams  of  Hunt  were 
plainly  heard  by  the  garrison,  in  the  midst  of  these  yells,  for 
a  long  time,  growing  fainter  as  life  expired."  t 

*  Cist's  Cincinnati  in  1859,  p.  05. 

t  Id.,  p.  100.  iliiny  western  writers  have  heretofore  not  been  well  in- 
formed as  to  Hunt's  death.  "In  Fobruarj-,  1791,"  says  the  Maga- 
zine of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  270,  "at  the  head  of  a  large 
force  of  savaijus,  he  [Simon]  Girly  attacked  and  besieged  Dunlap's  Station, 
on  the  Great  ^liaini,  but  he  failed  as  he  did  at  Bryant's,  after  trying  by  every 
device  of  skill  and  terror  to  induce  the  brave  and  determined  garrison  to 
surrender.  It  was  at  this  place  that  Abner  Hunt  met  his  death,  but  ex- 
actly how  will  probably  never  bo  known.  O.  -M.  Spencer,  who  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians  about  Ibis  time,  and  while  he  was  yet  a  child,  says  in 


254  Ilufori/  of  the  Girtys. 


If  Simon  Girty  did  not  actually  assist  in  this  liorrible  affair, 
he  must  have  ordered  it,  or,  at  least,  given  it  his  approval ;  and, 
judging  from  Avhat  Dr.  Knight  saw  Avhen  the  unfortunate 
Cra\\ford  was  undergoing  a  like  fate,  he  must  have  looked 
upon  the  cruel  scene  with  the  keenest  pleasure. 

The  retiring  of  the  besiegers  on  the  morning  of  the  11th 
of  Jannary,  was  because  they  had  come  to  despair  of  success 
and  were  apprehensive  of  the  alarm  having  reached  Fort 
Washington.  They  soon  returned  to  the  Miami  towns,  and 
Girty  hastened  onward  to  Detroit,  nowise  discouraged  by  his 
failure  to  capture  Duidap's  Station. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  gallant  defen  le  before  Lieutenant 
Kingsbury  received  the  following  from  General  Harmar : 

"FouT  Wasuinoton,  14/7t  January,  1791. 
"Extract  of  General  Orders: — The  general  is  highly 
pleased  Avitl  the  cool  and  spirited  conduct  displayed  by  Lieu- 
tenant [Jacob]  Kingsbury  in  repulsing  a  body  of  about  three 
hundred  savages,  who  surrounded  Dunlap's  Station  on  Mon- 
day last  and  besieged  it,  endeavoring  to  set  it  on  fire  with 
their  arrows,  and  keeping  up  a  heavy  fire  against  his  small 
party  for  the  space  of  twenty- four  hours.  .  .  .  The  spir- 
ited defense  uiade  by  Lieutenant  Kingsbury,  with  so  small  a 
force  as  thirty-five  men  total,  old  and  young,  sick  and  well, 
and  in  such  bad  works,  reflects  the  greatest  credit  upon  him 
and  his  party.  The  general  returns  his  thanks  to  him,  and 
directs  that  the  adjutant  transmit  him  a  copy  of  these  orders 
by  first  conveyance.  Jos.   Harmau, 

Brigadier-General."  * 

Before  dismissing  the  subject  of  the  attack  on  Dunlap's 
Station,  it  is  proper  to  consider  what  has  passed  into  current 

his  Captivity,  that  Hunt  was  bL'mfrl  and  tortured  to  death  by  Girty's  In- 
dians.   Judge  Burnet,  in  his  wf)l-ktiown  and  valuable  Notes,  maltes  no 
mention  whatever  of  the  burninif,,  but  says :  '  Mr.  Hunt  wac  killed  before 
he  could  reach  the  fort.'  " 
•  Wo..'dward's  History  of  Franklin  County,  Connecticut,  pp.  85,  86. 


History  of  the  Girtya.  255 


history  as  the  conversation  had  hetween  the  prisoner,  Hunt, 
and  Lieutenant  Kingsbury,  beside  what  has  already  been  sug- 
gested in  this  narrative.  It  is  stated,  that  "  Lieutenant  Kings- 
bury took  an  elevated  position  vhere  he  could  overlook  the 
pickets,  and  promptly  rejected  all  their  propositions  [made 
through  Hunt],  telling  them  that  he  had  dispatched  a  messen- 
ger to  Judge  Symmes,  who  would  soon  be  up  to  their  relief, 
with  the  whole  settlement  on  the  Ohio.  He  failed,  however, 
to  impose  on  them  [the  savages].  They  replied  that  it  was  a 
lie,  as  they  knew  Judge  Symmes  was  then  in  New  Jersey ; 
and  informed  him  that  they  had  five  hundred  warriors,  and 
would  soon  be  joined  by  three  hundred  more  ;  and  that,  if  an 
immediate  surrender  was  not  made,  they  [the  Americans] 
would  all  be  massacred  and  the  station  burned.  Lieutenant 
Kingsbury  replied,  that  he  would  not  surrender  if  he  were 
surrounded  by  live  hundred  devils,  and  immediate'  leaped 
from  his  position  into  the  fort.  The  Indians  fired  ai  liim,  and 
a  ball  struck  off  the  white  plume  he  wore  in  his  hat."  *  Much 
in  this  account,  it  is  evident,  is  an  exaggeration.  It  is  hardly 
to  be  presumed  that  the  lieutenant  would  have  referred  to 
Judge  Symmes,  when  the  name  of  General  Harmar,  at  Fort 
Washington,  would  have  been  so  much  more  effective  ;  besides, 
it  is  quite  incredible  that  he  would  have  exposed  himself,  as 
stated  in  the  account,  to  the  treacherous  foe  he  had  to  deal 
with.f 

After  remaining  in  Detroit  a  fcAV  days,  Simon  Girty  went 
to  his  home  in  Canada.  Bv  the  end  of  winter,  he  was  eager 
for  the  time  when  he  could  again  start  for  ;he  Ohio  wilderness 
and  join  the  Indians  in  the  war  against  h  s  countrymen ;  for 
he  had  fully  determined  to  continue  in  active  service  with  the 
savages.  In  April,  a  third  child  was  born  into  the  family —  a 
daughter,  to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  Sarah.     It  was  but  a 

*  McBride'g  Pioneer  Biography,  Vol.  I,  p.  18. 

f  As  to  the  altiick,  see,  in  addition  to  the  authorities  already  cited,  Farns- 
worth's  Cincinnati  Directory,  1819;  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  II;  Burnet's 
Notes;  Gist's  Cincinnati  Advertiser  for  March  21,  1848,  and  August  22, 
1849 ;  and  Howe's  Ohio. 


256  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

few  days  after  the  hirth  of  his  daughter,  before  the  father  was  in 
Detroit.  He  was  then  sent  to  the  Maumee,  as  in  the  previous 
fall,  to  assist  in  the  transportation  thither  of  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, clothing,  provisions,  and  other  articles  for  the  Indians, 
who  Avere  to  assemble  on  that  river,  or  had  already  reached 
there. 

Steps  were  now  taken  to  bring  the  hostile  savages  to  treat 
with  the  United  States.  Colonel  Thomas  Proctor  was  sent 
on  a  mission  to  the  Miami  and  Wiibash  Indians,  to  impress 
them  "  with  the  candor  and  justice  "  of  the  United  States, 
asking  them  to  "demean  themselves  peaceably."  He  was  to 
journey  to  these  nations  by  way  of  "  Cornplanter's  residence," 
which  was  upon  a  branch  of  the  Alleghany  river,  to  Sandusky ; 
thence  to  the  Miami  towns  which  General  Ilarmar  had  at- 
tacked ;  and  from  there  to  Fort  Washington. 

While  one  Thomas  Rhea,  a  prisoner  to  the  Lidians,  was  at 
the  "  great  crossing  "  of  the  Maumee  "  called  Sandusky,"  he 
mentioned  to  McKec,  and  the  other  officers  who  were  there, 
that  he  had  seen  Colonel  Proctor  on  his  way  to  Fort  Franklin 
(the  name  of  the  post  erected  at  Venango  by  Captain  Jonathan 
Heart,  at  the  command  of  Colonel  Harmar) — that  he  under- 
stood he  was  on  his  way  to  the  Miami  towns  or  Sandusky, 
with  some  of  the  Senecas,  that  he  expected  that  Cornplanter 
would  accompany  him  in  order  to  settle  matters  with  the  hos- 
tile nations,  and  that  he  anticipated  getting  shipping  at  Fort 
Erie,  just  across  the  Niagara  river,  at  its  head,  in  Canada,  to 
bring  him  and  the  Senecas  to  th?  Miami  villages  or  Sandusky. 
It  was  the  further  testimony  of  Rhea,  that  the  officers  at  the 
Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  in  their  conversation  with  each  other, 
said  that  if  tliey  were  at  Fort  Erie,  Colonel  Proctor  should  get  no 
shipping  there.  The  Mohawks,  who  were  then  at  the  Maumee 
crossing,  as  well  as  other  Indians,  declared  that  if  Proctor,  or 
any  other  Yankee  messenger,  came  where  they  then  were,  he 
should  never  carry  messages  back.  This  was  frequently  ex- 
pressed not  only  by  the  Indians,  but  also  by  Simon  Grirty. 
But  the  latter,  along  with   McKee,  left  for  Detroit,  before 


is&^ 


Hidory  of  the  Girtys.  257 

Rhea,  who  embarked  on  the  4th  of  June.*  It  being  reported 
that  the  Americans,  in  a  large  body,  were  again  approaching 
the  Miami  towns,  Girty  immediately  returned  to  the  Mauniee, 
determined  to  join  the  Indians,  taking  passage  with  Matthew 
Elliott,  who  sailed  on  the  8th  of  June  for  that  river,  with  a 
boat  load  of  goods  for  the  savages,  so  that,  by  the  middle  of 
that  month,  he  had  doubtless  reached  the  head  of  that  stream. 
But  the  report  of  the  m.a"ching  of  Americans  was  a  false 
alarm.  It  served,  however,  to  hasten  forward  all  the  parties 
who  had  reached  tlie  Rapids.  Girty  now  made  his  way  home- 
ward, arriving  at  his  residence  early  in  July. 

Note  I. — It  has  been  stated  on  a  previous  page  that  George 
Gi»'ty  was  present  at  the  attack  on  Dunlap's  Station.  Will- 
iam Wiseman,  in  1850,  told  Charles  Cist  that  it  was  indicated, 
in  the  course  of  the  parley  which  ensued,  not  only  that  Simon 
Girty  was  in  command,  but  that  his  brother,  George,  was  with 
him.  Mr.  Cist  was  also  told  by  Samuel  ILuin,  at  the  same 
time,  that  George  was  of  the  party.  (Sec  Cist's  Cincinnati 
in  1859,  pp.  94,  105.)  I  find  no  evidence  to  the  contrary  of 
this.  Wiseman  and  Ilahn  were  both  in  the  fort  when  it  was 
beset  by  the  enemy. 

"  In  1850,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  bringing  together,  after  a 
separation  of  sixty  years,  two  of  the  surviving  defi'nders  of 
Dunlap's  Station,  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  Avas  attacked 
by  the  Girtys  and  a  large  body  of  savages  on  the  7th  Feb- 
ruary [January],  1791." — Charles  Cist,  in  Cincinnati  in  1859, 
p.  90.  This  has  led  some  writers  to  suppose  that  all  three 
of  the    Girtys — Simon,  George,  and   James — were    present ; 

•  Narrative  of  Thomas  Rhea,  in  Amerii'an  State  Papers — ''Indian  Af- 
fairs," Vol.  I,  pp.  190,  197.  Sec,  as  to  the  transtnission  of  liis  Narrative  to 
President  Washington,  the  St.  Clair  Papers,  Vol.  xl,  p.  '224.  The  character 
of  Kliea  was,  it  was  afterwards  ascertained,  none  of  the  best;  nevertheless, 
his  statements  of  what  ho  saw  and  heard  during  liis  captivity  were  true. 
Colonel  Thomas  Proctor  !;ot  no  farther  than  Buffalo  creek,  New  York,  on 
his  mission.  See  his  Journal,  in  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Second  Series,  Vol. 
IV,  pp.  G51-G2'2. 

17  -      ^  ^ 


258  History  of  the  Girty%. 

but  tlio  context  shows  that  the  writer  meant  by  "  the  Girtys," 
only  Simon  and  George.  See  pp.  94,  105,  in  the  publication 
of  Cipt  referred  to. 

"George  iind  James  Girty  were  as  completely  identified 
with  the  Indians  all  this  time  as  if  they  had  been  actually 
born  savages.  They  lived  with  them,  fought  with  them,  and 
apparently  wanted  no  other  society.  .  .  .  They  partici- 
pated in  the  attack  on  Dunlap's  Station,  and  each  took  an  In- 
dian's part  in  the  struggle  then  in  progress." — Magazine  of 
American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  271.  But  James  was  not  at 
the  attack  on  Duidnp's  Station  ;  did  not  fight  with  the  Indians 
against  the  Americans  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution;  and, 
besides,  it  is  improper  to  suppose  (as  already  mentioned)  that, 
in  all  respects,  he  was  as  thoroughly  an  Indian  as  if  born  one. 

Note  II. — Chronological  Record:  (1)  Peace  with  Great 
Britain  proclaimed  April  I'J,  178;5.  (2)  Claiming  states  (ex- 
cept Connecticut)  yield  tiicir  claims  to  the  Northwest  on  or  be- 
fore March  1,  17.'^4.  (3)  Surveying  began  west  of  the  Ohio, 
September,  1785.  (4)  Fort  llarmar  at  mouth  of  the  Mus- 
kingum erected  1780.  (5)  Ordinance  for  government  of  the 
North-west  passed  July  13,  1787.  (G)  The  Ohio  Company 
and  John  Cleves  Symmes  make  large  purchases  in  south- 
eastern a-  I  southern  portions  of  the  present  State  of  Ohio  in 
October  following.  (7)  Arthur  St.  Clair  commissioned  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  February  1, 
1788.  (8)  Marietta  settled  April  7,  following.  (9)  Cincin- 
nati founded  January  7,  1789.  (10)  Fort  Washington  com- 
pleted at  Cincinnati,  December  following. 

Note  III. — In  1790,  Symmes's  Purchase  had  a  population 
of  1,300;  the  Ohio  Company's,  1,000.  Against  this  popula- 
tion, the  savages  were  then  particularly  hostile ;  although,  as 
■we  have  seen,  they  had  made,  since  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, numerous  raids  across  the  Ohio,  southward  and  eastward. 


Hislory  of  the  Qirtys.  259 


CHAPTEll  XXVI. 

The  "  Moravian "  Indians,  under  the  charge  of  Moravian 
missionaries,  moved,  in  the  spring  of  1791,  from  the  Huron 
river,  in  the  present  State  of  Oliio,  to  the  Detroit  river,  on 
the  east  side,  just  above  its  mouth.  "We  examined  the 
country,"  says  Zeisberger,  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  in  his  jour- 
nal, "  and  encamped  with  the  Indian  brethren  for  the  most 
part  on  [Alexander]  McKee's  plantation,  where  no  one  lived ; 
for  it  had  been  vacated  for  us,  where  there  is  much  cleared 
land  for  planting.  Next  to  this  is  Elliott's  plantation,  where 
also  we  got  much  cleared  land  and  a  house  to  live  in."  This 
little  "Moravian"  settlement,  which  received  the  name  of  the 
Warte,  or  the  Watch-Tower,  stood  in  full  view  of  the  lake. 
Opposite  to  it,  on  the  American  side  of  the  Detroit  river, 
was  a  Wyandot  village-r-not  of  the  Sandusky  Wyandots,  but 
of  those  of  Detroit.  A  few  Canadian  farmers  lived  in  .the 
vicinity  of  the  Watch-Tower.  Of  these,  one,  of  course,  was 
Simon  Girty.  Planting  soon  followed  the  arrival  of  the  ''Mo- 
ravians," and  the  harvest  came  on  in  due  time;  but  there  waa 
trouble  among  the  "  Christian "  Indians;  "for,"  as  Zeisber- 
ger declares,  "there  was  drinking  in  the  neighborhood,  so 
that  our  people  were  also  led  astray."  Girty  was,  in  particu- 
lar, a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  missionary ;  as  he  uot  only  em- 
ployed some  of  the  "Moravian:?,"  but  paid  them  in  rum,  mak- 
ing them  drunk.*  That  he  called  in  the  services  of  others  in 
harvest  shows  conclusively  that  he  was  prospering  as  a 
farmer. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  General  Scott  and  Colonel  James  Wil- 
kinson left  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river, 
for  the  Wabash  towns,  marching  directly  for  the  Wea  village — 
Weatenon.     This  and  other  important  towns  were  destroyed, 

•  Zeisberger's  Diary,  Vol.  II,  pp.  202,  203. 


260  Ilinforn  of  the  Girtys. 

and  a  few  Indians  killed,  and  some  captured.  A  second  ex- 
pedition was  authorized  by  St.  Clair  on  the  '25th  of  June.  It  was 
commanded  by  Wilkinson,  and  consisted  of  five  hundred  mounted 
men.  Tiie  march  commenced  from  near  Fort  Washington,  on 
the  20th  of  July,  for  the  Indian  village  of  I'Anguille,  situated 
on  the  Eel  river,  about  six  miles  above  its  confluence  Avith  the 
Wabash.  This  and  various  other  towns  were  destroyed ; 
also  several  hundred  acres  of  corn.  Some  Indians  were 
killed,  and  a  considerable  number  captured.  These  active 
operations  were  in  strange  contrast  with  the  tardy  measures 
put  forth  to  furnish  St.  Clair  with  men  and  the  munitions 
of  war  to  prosecute  a  campaign,  which  had  been  resolved  upon, 
against  the  Miami  towns.  It  was  the  7tli  of  September  before 
Major-Gentral  Richard  Butler,  the  second  in  command,  and 
Quartermaster-General  Ilodgdon,  reached  Fort  Washington. 
By  this  time,  General  St.  Clair  had  already  moved  two  thou- 
sand men  about  twenty-four  miles  on  the  way  northward;  but, 
before  repeating  the  story,  so  often  told,  of  his  dire  disaster, 
we  must  turn  our  attention  to  the  enemy  upon  the  Maumee, 
against  which  his  forces  were  particularly  directed. 

Throughout  the  summer  there  was  an  unwonted  activity 
among  the  Miami  Indians  and  those  who  dwelt  near  them. 
The  expeditious  of  Scott  and  Wilkinson  to  the  Wabash  towns 
kept  alive  the  fears  of  the  savages  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee. 
In  the  month  of  August,  ammunition  which  had  been  received 
from  Detroit,  was  dispatched  to  the  Wabasli,  but  it  came  too 
late  to  be  of  use  against  the  Kentuckians  in  the  last  expedi- 
tion. The  march  of  AVilkinson  so  near  to  the  Miami  towns 
had  caused  a  second  concentration  of  all  the  warriors,  within 
reach,  at  that  place.  As  to  Simon  Girty,  who  made  haste 
(his  harvest  being  over)  to  reach  the  Miami  villages  from  his 
Canadian  home,  it  may  be  said  that  ho  busied  himself  in 
advising  Avith  the  Indians ;  and,  on  at  least  one  occasion, 
he  joined  a  war-party  in  an  attempt  against  the  Americans. 
He  may  have  returned  once  or  twice  to  Detroit  to  take  charge 
of  supplies  which  were  sent  forward  to  the  Maumee,  but  this 
is  not  probable,  as  he  was  resolved  on  fighting. 

Now  that  the  army  under  St.  Clair,  so  long  gathering  upon 


History  of  the  Qirttjs.  261 

the  Ohio,  had  actually  taken  up  its  line  of  march  up  the  Great 
Miami,  there  could  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians 
as  to  its  destination.  The  warriors,  from  the  heads  of  the 
last  mentioned  river,  from  the  Sandusky,  from  the  Maumee, 
and  from  the  vicinity  of  Detroit  and  other  places,  gathered  to 
oppose  the  advance  of  the  Americans.  The  principal  tribes, 
ready  to  send  their  braves  to  contest  the  onward  progress  of 
St.  Clair,  were  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Wyandots,  Miamis, 
Ottawas,  Kickapoos,  Chippewas,  and  Pottawattamies,  with 
some  Mohawks  from  Canada,  and  a  few  Creek  Indians.  Mu- 
nitions of  war  and  other  supplies  continued  to  arrive  at  the 
Miami  towns  from  Detroit.  But  all  this  was  entirely  unknown 
to  General  St.  Clair.  He  was  ignorant  from  the  commence- 
ment of  his  march  to  the  end,  of  the  collected  force  and  situ- 
ation of  the  enemy.  The  Miami  chief,  Little  Turtle,  the 
Shawanese  chief.  Blue  Jacket,  and  the  Delaware  chief,  Buck- 
ongahelas,  formed  an  alliance  not  to  be  despised.  And  these 
powerful  chiefs  not  only  had  the  aid  of  Simon  Girty,  but  of 
McKee  and  Elliott,  of  the  British  Indian  Department,  and  of 
a  number  of  British  and  French  traders  "  who  generally  re- 
sided among  the  Indians,  and  supplied  them  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  in  exchange  for  furs  and  peltries."  One  of  these 
traders,  as  the  sequel  shows,  was  James  Girty,  the  brother  of 
Simon. 

The  first  move  made  by  the  Indian  chiefs  upon  hearing  of 
St.  Clair's  forward  progress,  was  to  dispatch  the  Shawanese 
chief,  Tecumseh,  at  the  head  of  a  small  party  of  spies,  to 
watch  the  motions  of  the  American  army  and  report  its  ad- 
vancement. This  work  he  accomplished  most  faithfully.  So 
well  were  the  Indians  kept  informed  of  its  march,  and  of  the 
failure  of  the  Americans  to  send  forward  a  sufficient  number 
of  scouts,  that  they  were  all  soon  greatly  inspired  with  hopes 
of  surprising  their  enemy.  Their  courage  and  determination 
were  thus  kept  up.  At  the  proper  time  they,  too,  advanced. 
Simon  Girty  led  the  Wyandots.  The  whole  force  amounted  to 
less,  probably,  than  fifteen  hundred  men. 

But  what  of  General  St.  Clair?     Twenty-four  miles  from 


202  History  of  the  Glrhju. 


Fort  Washington,  on  the  Great  Miami,  he  erected  a  stockade 
fort  with  four  bastions.  To  this  fortification  was  given  the 
name  of  Fort  Hamilton  ;  it  was  on  the  site  of  what  is  now 
Hamilton,  Ohio.  On  the  4th  of  October,  St.  Clair  resumed 
his  march,  and,  in  ten  days,  had  advanced  forty-two  miles 
only.  At  a  point  six  miles  south  of  what  is  now  Greenville, 
Oiiio,  another  fortification  was  built  and  named  Fort  Jefferson. 
It  was  made  of  logs  laid  horizontally.  The  army  did  not 
move  again  untd  the  twenty-fourth.  For  the  ne.\t  nine  days, 
there  was  much  desertion  among  the  militia;  heavy  rains  fell ; 
provisions  ran  short ;  St.  Clair  was  sick  ;  when,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  iJd  tf  November,  the  army  of  fourteen  hundred 
men  encamped  at  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Fort 
Recovery,  Ohio,  at  a  distance,  in  a  straight  line,  of  fifty  miles 
from  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  the  objective  point,  as  we 
have  seen,  of  the  expedition.  Meanwhile,  the  enemy  were 
marching  directly  to  meet  St.  Clair,  sending  out  in  ad- 
vance numerous  scouting-parties,  some  of  which  during  the 
night  came  so  near  as  to  draw  fire  from  the  pickets  of  the 
Americans.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  November,  the 
troops  at  early  dawn  i)araded  and  had  been  dismissed  but 
a  few  minutes  (the  sun  nut  yet  uj)),  when  the  woods  in  front 
rung  with  the  yells  and  firing  of  the  savages.  At  this  mo- 
ment, St.  Clair  was  lying  sick  in  his  tent. 

The  storv  of  the  battle  whicli  ensued  Inis  often  been  told. 
At  the  first  fire,  the  militia  in  front  fied  through  the  first  line 
of  regulars,  causing  some  confusion.  Then  the  whole  camp 
seemed  to  be  surrounded  by  the  foe.  The  soldiers  were 
pressed  toward  the  center  and  fell  in  scores.  St.  Clair  quickly 
arose  from  his  sir':  couch  and  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  re- 
form die  lines.  The  officers  fell  on  every  hand.  Major-Gen- 
eral  Butler  was  early  wounded,  but  continued  to  urge  re- 
sistance. When,  at  last,  all  the  artillery  officers  had  either 
been  killed  or  wounded,  and  the  Indian  fire  was  threatening 
a  total  annihilation  of  the  army,  preparation  was  made  for  re- 
treat, which  was  accomplished,  though  in  a  disorderly  man- 
ner,   after    such    of    the    wounded  as  could    be    moved  were 


Hixtory  of  Ihc  Glrh/s.  263 

gathered  together.  The  killed  and  missing  numbered  thirty- 
seven  ofliccrs  and  five  hundred  and  ninety-tlirce  privates;  tlio 
wounded,  thirty-one  officers  and  two  hundred  and  fit'ty-two 
privates.     Such  was  ''  St.  Clair's  Defeat !" 

Tlie  Wyandots  fought  most  courageously,  and  none  with 
more  bravery  than  their  leader,  Simon  dirty,  who  was  pre- 
sented with  three  of  the  captured  cannon  ;  ''•  but  the  present 
proved  of  no  value  to  him,  as  he  could  not  remove  them. 
lie  afterward  told  a  prisoner  (William  May)t  that  there 
were  twelve  hundred  Indians  of  the  whole  force,  three  hun- 
dred of  which  were  not  in  the  battle,  but  were  left  in  the  rear 
to  take  care  of  the  horses.  The  same  prisoner  was  also  in- 
formed- that  three  hundred  savages  were  on  the  march  at  the 
time,  under  the  comniiind  of  a  white  officer.  Lieutenant  Pri- 
deaux  Sclby,  of  the  Fifth  British  Regiment,  but  did  not  get 
up  in  time  to  participate  in  the  action,  and  that  Captain 
Joseph  liunbury,  of  the  sanie  regiment,  was  in  the  action,  but 
did  not  learn  that  he  took  any  command.  Both  of  these  offi- 
cers also  belonged  to  the  British  Indian  Department. 

Amonji  those  who  fouixht  with  the  savajjes  Avore  considerable 
numbers  of  Canadians,  mostly  youug  men,  and  in  particular 
such  as  were  born  of  Indian  mothers.  There  were  also  some 
refugees  present.  Girty  was  not  the  only  one  who,  on  that 
day,  fought  against  his  countrymen.  After  the  action,  he 
found  General  Butler  on  the  field,  writhing  from  the  agony  of 
his  wounds.  The  general  spoke  to  him  and  lecjuestcd  him  to 
end  his  misery.  '"The  traitor  refitsed  to  do  this,  but  turning 
to  one  of  the  Indian  warriors,  told  him  the  wounded  man  Avas 
a  high  officer ;  whereupon  the  savage  planted  his  tomahawk  in 
his  head,  and  tlius  terminated  his  sutYerings.  Ilis  scalp  was 
instantly  torn  from  his  crown,  his  heart  taken  out  and  divided 
into  as  many  pieces  as  there  were  tribes  engaged  in  the 
battle."  X 

*  Keo  May's  Slutument  (HlRtliivil),  in  Ainerit'iin  Stutu  Piipdrs — "Indian 
Affairs,"  Vol.  I,  p.  243. 

1'  May's  Statement,  just  cited. 

J  Of  the  various  published  accounts  of  the  doatli  (.f  General  lUitli'r,  the 
above  seems  the  most  trustworthy.    See  Stone's  Life  of  Brant  (cd.  of  18C5), 


264  Hhtory  of  the  Giriyn. 

On  the  retreat  and  general  rout  of  the  army,  Girty  cap- 
turcMl,  it  is  said,  a  wliitc  woman.  A  Wyandot  sijuaw  ^vllo  ac- 
c  tnpanied  the  warriors  of  her  nation,  perceiving  this,  de- 
manded the  prisoner,  on  the  ground  that  usage  gave  all  female 
captives  to  the  women  accompanying  the  braves.  Girty  re- 
fused and  hocanie  furious ;  when  some  warriors  came  up  and 
enforced  a  compliance  with  this  rule  of  the  Indians — to  the 
great  relief  of  the  prisoner.  The  woman  was  afterward  sold 
to  a  respectable  French  family  in  Detroit.* 

The  valor  displayed  by  Girty  at  St.  Clair's  defeat  greatly 
increased  his  reputation  among  the  savages,  and  more 
than  ever  were  the  Wyandots  his  friends  after  that  signal  vic- 
tory, lie  returned  to  the  Maumee  with  them  ;  and  the  com- 
mencement of  1702  still  saw  him  upon  that  river.  Whether 
or  not  he  visited  Detroit  and  his  home  during  the  latter  part 
of  winter  is  uncertain  ;  but,  in  the  early  spring,  he  is  known 
to  have  been  again  with  the  Indians.  The  Miami  towns  were 
no  longer  the  principal  point  for  the  rendezvousing  of  the 
savages.  It  was  seen  that  a  place  not  so  much  the  object  of 
the  Americans  would  be  preferable ;  so  the  junction  of  the 

Vol.  II,  p.  310|  Siibinu's  Aineik'rtn  LoyHlists,  Vol.  II,  p.  474;  KvenU  in  In- 
diiiii  Hi.-tory,  Ijiiiicustui',  IS-lIi,  p.  '200.  In  rimiiy  stiitciiu'iiis  tlmt  tmve  lieon 
printed,  it  is  siiiil,  simply,  thiit.  after  llui  Imttlt!,  Girty  I'oiind  iiinong  tlio  dciid, 
the  body  oi'  Uiitl«r,  whicli  he  rccogiiizud.  Compiiro  An  IlisturicHl  Account 
of  th<'  Expedition  iigninst  Sandusky  under  Cnl.  William  Crawford,  in  178'2, 
p.  107. 

Concerning  General  Butler's  death,  the  old  ballad  entitled  "St.  Clair's 
Defeat  "  has  this  to  say  : 

"  VVo  hud  not  been  loni;  broken  when  General  Butler  found 
lliuLself  so  badly  wnundod,  was  forced  to  quit  the  ground. 
'  My  God,'  says  he,  '  what  shall  we  do;  we're  wounded  every  man  ; 
So  charge  tiieui,  valiant  heroes,  and  beat  them  if  you  can.' 

"  He  leaned  his  buck  airainst  a  tree  and  there  rosi>rned  his  brenth, 
And  like  a*  valiant  soldier  sunk  in  the  arms  of  death; 
When  bles-ed  aiiu'els  did  await  his  spirit  to  convey; 
And  unto  the  tele^tial  tields  he  quickly  went  his  way." 

•  William  "Walker,  in  Wyandotte  (Kas.)  Gazette,  April  18,  1872.  The 
anecdote  will  be  found,  also,  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition 
against  Sandusky,  p.  197. 


Hutory  of  (he  Girti/s.  265 

Auglaize  with  the  Mauinoo  hociimo  the  Indian  head-quarters. 
It  is  the  site  of  the  present  Defiance,  Oliio, 

On  the  l!]th  of  April,  William  Mny,  whoso  name  has  pre- 
viously been  mentioned,  a  private  soldier,  was  sent  from  Fort 
Hamilton  on  the  trail  of  three  men  who  had  previously  left 
that  post,  dispatched  as  a  flag  to  the  Itidians.  May  was  soon 
after  captured  and  brought  to  a  Delaware  town  abotit  ten 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize,  "  where  he  was  much 
beat."  At  the  junction  of  the  Auglaize  with  the  Maumee, 
the  prisoner  found  a  number  of  English  traders ;  and  either 
here  or  at  the  Delaware  village  above,  he  met  Girty,  who 
saved  his  life,  he  having  been  condemned  to  death.*  lie 
was  then  sent  to  war  with  twenty-two  Indians.  This  was 
about  the  first  of  May.  The  party  in  eight  days  reached 
Fort  St.  Clair,  a  post  which  had  recently  been  estal)lished  by 
the  Americans,  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Fort  Hamilton,  and 
near  where  Eaton,  Ohio,  is  now  located,  where  they  killed  one 
man,  and  returned  through  the  battle-field  of  the  previous  4th 
of  November. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  about  one  hundred  Indians 
commanded,  it  is  believed,  by  Girty,  made  an  attack  on  a 
party  of  soldiers  at  Fort  Jefierson,  five  miles  south  of 
the  present  Greenville,  county-seat  of  Darke  county,  Ohio, 
who  were  out  cutting  hay,  not  far  from  the  fort.  Sixteen 
Avcre  killed  and  taken  prisoners ;  four  dea('  bodies  only  could 
be  found. t 

May  was  employed  for  the  next  three  months  in  the  trans- 

*  It  )8  a  mRtter  of  rpgrot  that  nothing  whatever  is  i<no\vn  of  the  particu- 
lars of  this  act  of  liindiiess  on  part  of  Girty.  I'«  rt'duuiuN  inoro  to  liig 
credit — when  we  consider  tliat  May  was  a  total  stnmger  to  him — lliaii  in 
saving  the  life  of  Kenton.  That  ho  lias  not  heretofore  received  cointnenda- 
lion  for  what  he  did,  is  because  the  incident  has,  'm  a  great  e.xtent,  escaped 
the  notice  of  Western  historians. 

f  American  State  Papers. — Indian  Affairs,  Vol.  I,  p.  238.  It  is  not  en- 
tirely certain  that  Girty  commanded  thi-  savages  on  this  occasion ;  but  thorb 
is  no  doubt  of  his  presence. — See  Rondthnler's  Life  of  Heckewelder,  p.  113. 
Historians  of  the  West  have  overlooked  this  affair.  I  find  it  nowhere  re- 
corded by  them.    Compare,  also,  Pa.  Mag.  of  Hist.,  Vol.  XII,  p.  45. 


2GG  History  of  the  Girtys. 

port  service,  on  board  a  schooner  that  carried  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  barrels.  As  he  had  formerly  followed  the  sea, 
Elliott  purcliased  him  from  the  Indians  to  utilize  his  knowl- 
edge in  the  way  just  mentioned.  He  made  a  trip  from  the 
Maumce  to  Detroit  and  back  generally  in  from  eight  to 
twelve  days.  It  was  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  river, 
that  McKee,  as  agent  in  the  Indian  Department,  kept  his 
stores  to  supply  the  savages,  and  Elliott  was  engaged  in  their 
transportation  and  distribution.  "From  the  mouth  of  the 
[Maumee]  river  to  Detroit,"  says  May,  "  is  one  hundred  and 
eight  miles,  or  ninety  miles  along  the  lake  and  eighteen  up 
the  [Detroit]  river."  "  It  was  the  common  opinion,"  is  his 
testimony,  "  and  the  common  conversation,  that  no  peace 
would  take  place  unless  the  Ohio  river  was  established  as  the 
boundary  line  between  the  Indians  and  the  Americans."  * 

May  left  Detroit  about  the  first  of  September,  sailing  doAvn 
the  lake  to  Fort  Erie,  where  he  arrived  on  the  fifth,  and  not 
long  after  was  permitted  to  return  to  Pittsburgh.  Before  his 
leaving  the  Maumee,  a  grai\d  council  had  been  called  of  all 
the  Northwestern  tribes  to  assemble  at  "the  Glaize"  in 
October.  Already  there  were  gathered  thirty-six  hundred 
Indians — Pottawattamics,  Shawanese,  Miamis,  Ottawas,  Wy- 
andots,  Delawares,  Munceys,  and  Chippewas.  They  drew 
daily  rations  from  the  British  government,  wliich  were  sup- 
plied to  them  from  Detroit.  May  affirmed  that  it  was  the 
general  and  unanimous  sentiments  of  all  the  Canada  Indians 
and  other  nations  who  had  assembled  and  were  assembling  at 
"  au  Glaize  "  (generally  known  as  ."  the  Glaize  "  or  "  Grand 
Glaize")  to  confer  together,  that  ihe  Ohio  must  be  the  bound- 
ary line,  and  that  all  the  Western  savages  would  join  the  Con- 
federacy against  the  Americans  unless  the  latter  would  agree 
to  it.  Nor  would  they  return  home  until  they  had  compelled 
a  compliance  with  their  wishes  in  that  regard,  they  having 
brought  their  families  with  them  or  sent  for  them.f  It  was 
the  great  coming  on  of  this  grand  council  that  kept  Girty  at 

*  May's  statement,  before  cited, 
tid. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  267 

or  near  "the  Glaize"  during  the  summer.  From  the  subse- 
quent relation  of  another  prisoner,  0.  M.  Spencer,  we  gather 
further  information  of  him  during  this  time,  and  also,  as  will 
hereafter  appear,  of  his  brother  James. 

It  was  on  the  3d  day  of  July,  1792,  Avhen  young  Spencer 
(his  age  was  eleven  years)  left  Columbia,  a  settlement  just 
above  Cincinnati,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio,  for  Fort 
Washington,  to  participate  in  celebrating  "the  glorious  4th." 
On  the  seventh,  the  boy,  with  four  others,  started  in  a  canoe 
to  return  up  the  river.  The  persons  with  him  were  a  Mrs. 
Coleman,  Mr.  Jacob  Light,  and  a  drunken  man  whose  name  is 
unknown.  They  were,  when  well  on  their  way,  fired  on  by  two 
Indians  in  ambush  on  the  river  bank;  the  intoxicated  man  was 
killed  and  Light  wounded.  The  latter  and  Mrs.  Coleman 
jumped  into  the  river  and  escaped,  but  young  Spencer  was 
captured  and  hurried  into  the  wilderness.'^  The  party  crossed 
Buck  creek  in  »vhat  is  now  Clark  county,  Ohio,  and  soon  after 
forded  the  Mad  river,  striking  thence  in  a  north-westerly  di- 
rection to  the  Great  Miami.  After  crossing  this  stream, 
probably  not  far  from  the  present  location  of  Sidney,  Ohio, 
the  boy  was  taken  to  the  Auglaize,  down  which  river  he  was 
conducted  to  its  confluence  with  the  Maumee,  which  place, 
"  the  Glaize,"  was  reached  "  a  little  before  noon  of  the  thir- 
teenth of  July."  Here,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  last 
mentioned,  he  was  left  in  charge  of  an  jld  widowed  squaw, 
occupying  a  bark  cabin  near  its  bank.  Concerning  her  family 
we  have  sr    e  interesting  particulars. 

There  vas  a  dark  Indian  girl  (an  orphan)  two  years  older 
than  Spencer,  and  a  half  Indian  boy,  about  a  year  his  junior, 
both  her  grandchildren.  The  mother  of  the  girl  and  boy  was 
then  the  wife  of  George  Ironside,  a  British  Indian  trader,  liv- 
ing at  a  trading  station,  on  a  high  point  directly  opposite  the 
grandmother's  cabin,  a  few  hundred  yards  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Auglaize.  The  boy  was  reputed  to  be  the  son  of  Simon 
Girty,  and  was  very  sprightly,  but,  Avithal,  passionate  and  will- 

•  See,  in  this  connection,  Rondtliiiler's  Life  of  Hecitewelder,  p.  Ill ;  also 
5[cBri<lo'i-  Pioneer  Biog-apliy,  Vol.  T,  p.  36. 


268  History  of  the  Girtya. 

ful,  a  perfectly  spoiled  jhild.  The  grandmother  called  him 
Simo-ne  ;  that  is,  Simrn.* 

About  the  twenty-f.rst  of  July,  the  old  squaw  took  the  boy 
prisoner  on  a  visit  to  a  Shawanese  village  located  farther 
down  the  Maumee.  They  were  kindly  received  by  an  Indian 
acquaintance,  whose  wife,  a  very  pleasant  and  rather  pretty 
woman  of  twenty-five,  set  before  them,  according  to  c'stom, 
some  refreshments,  consisting  of  dried  green  corn  boiled  with 
beans  and  dried  pumpkins,  making,  as  the  youngster  thought, 
a  very  excellent  dish,  indeed.  After  spending  a  few  hours 
with  this  family,  they  went  to  pay  their  respects  to  Blue 
Jacket,  the  most  noble  in  appearance  of  any  Indian  Spencer 
had  ever  before  seen.  His  person  was  about  six  feet  high, 
was  finely  proportioned,  stout,  and  muscular ;  his  eyes  large, 
bright,  and  piercing  ;  his  forehead  high  and  broad ;  his  nose 
aquiline:  his  mouth  rather  wide ;  and  his  countenance  open 
and  intelligent,  expi'essive  of  firmness  and  decision.  He  was 
cofisidered  one  of  the  most  brave  and  accomplished  of  the  In- 
dian chiefs,  second  only  to  Little  Turtle,  of  the  Miamis,  and 
Buckongahelas,  of  the  Delawares.  He  had  signalized  himself 
on  many  battles,  particularly  in  the  defeat  of  Colonel  Hardin's 
detachment  in  Harmar's  campaign,  and  that  of  General  St. 
Clair  on  the  previous  fourth  of  November.  He  held,  as  the 
boy  was  told,  the  commission  and  received  the  half-pay  of  a 
brigadier-general  from  the  British  crown. 

On  the  day  of  their  visit  to  Blue  Jacket,  this  chief  was  ex- 
pecting what,  to  him,  was  distinguished  company  ;  it  was  none 
other  than  Simon  Girty,  accompanied  by  a  chief  of  a  neigh- 

*  "  The  family  of  Coi)h-ci>o-cheeh  [the  old  squHW  in  whose  chHi'go  he  had 
been  left],  consisted  of  a  dark  Indian  girl  (an  orphan)  two  years  my  elder, 
and  a  half  Indian  boy,  about  a  year  younger  than  myself,  both  her  grand- 
children by  her  only  daughter,  now  the  wife  of  Georije  Ironside,  a  British 
Indian  trader,  living  at  the  trading  station,  on  the  high  point  directly  op- 
posite to  her  cabin,  a  few  hundred  yards  above  the  mouth  of  Auglaize.  The 
boy,  reputed  to  be  the  son  of  the  famous,  or  rather  infamous  renegade, 
Siin<m  Girty,  was  very  sprightly,  but  withal,  passionate  and  willful,  a  per- 
fectly spoiled  child,  to  whom  his  mother  gave  the  Mohawk  name  of  Ked- 
zaw-saw,  while  his  grandmother  called  him  Simo-ne  [Simon]." — Spencer's 
Indian  Captivity,  p.  78. 


History  of  the  Qirlys.  269 

boring  village — the  Snake,  a  Shawanese  warrior,  spoken  of  in 
a  previous  chapter.  In  honor  of  the  occasion.  Blue  Jacket 
was  dressed  in  splendor ;  had  on  a  scarlet  frock,  richly  laced 
with  gold,  and  confined  around  his  waist  with  a  parti-colored 
sash ;  also,  red  leggins  and  moccasins,  ornamented  in  the 
highest  style  of  Indian  fashion.  On  his  shoulders,  he  wore  a 
pair  of  gold  epaulets,  and  on  his  arms  broad  silver  bracelets ; 
while  from  his  neck  hung  a  massive  silver  gorget,  and  a  large 
medallion  of  his  majesty  George  III.  Around  his  lodge  were 
hung  rifles,  war-clubs,  bows  and  arrows,  and  other  implements 
of  war,  while  the  skins  of  deer,  bear,  panther,  and  otter,  the 
spoils  of  the  chase,  furnished  pouches  for  tobacco,  or  mats  for 
seats  and  beds.  His  wife  was  a  remarkably  fine-looking 
woman ;  his  daughters,  much  fairer  than  the  generality  of  In- 
dian women,  were  quite  handsome  ;  and  his  two  sons,  about 
eighteen  and  twenty  years  old,  educated  by  the  British,  were 
very  intelligent. 

The  expected  visitors  soon  came ;  and,  to  young  Spencer, 
who  had  often  heard  of  him,  Simon  Girty  was  a  person  of 
more  than  usual  curiosity ;  and  he  subsequently  wrote  of  his 
personal  appearance  in  an  exaggerated  manner. 

Girty  wore  the  Indian  costume,  but  without  ornament,  upon 
this  occasion ;  and  his  silk  handkerchief,  while  it  supplied  the 
place  of  a  hat,  hid  the  unsightly  scar  in  his  forehead,  caused 
by  the  wound  which,  the  reader  has  already  been  told,  was 
given  him  by  Captain  Joseph  Brant.  On  each  side,  in  his 
belt,  was  stuck  a  silver-mounted  pistol,  and  at  his  left  hung  a 
short,  broad  dirk,  serving  occasionally  the  uses  of  a  knife. 
He  made  many  inquiries  of  Spencer  ;  some  about  his  family 
and  the  particulars  of  his  captivity,  but  more  of  the  strength 
of  the  different  garrisons,  the  number  of  American  troops  at 
Fort  Washington,  and  whether  the  President  of  the  United 
States  intended  soon  to  send  another  army  against  the  In- 
dians. He  spoke  of  the  wrongs  he  had  received  at  the  hands 
of  his  countrymen,  and,  with  fiendish  exultation,  of  the  re- 
venge he  had  taken.  He  boasted  of  his  exploits,  of  the  num- 
ber of  his  victories,  and  of  his  personal  prowess ;  then,  rais- 


270  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

ing  his  handkerchief,  he  exhibited,  to  his  youthful  listener,  the 
deep  scar  in  his  forehead ;  said  it  was  a  saber  cut  which  he  re- 
ceived in  the  battle  at  St.  Clair's  defeat,  adding  that  he  had 
sent  the  damned  Yankee  officer  who  gave  it  to  hell.*  IIo 
«nded  his  talk  by  telling  young  Spencer  that  he  would  never 
see  home  again ;  but,  if  he  should  turn  out  to  be  a  good  hun- 
ter and  a  brave  warrior,  he  might  one  day  be  a  chief.  The 
captive  boy  then  returned,  with  the  old  squaw,  up  the  river.f 

Note  I. — "A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution," 
says  a  published  account,  "  a  daughter  of  Captain  John  Van 
Bebber,  named  Rhoda,  aged  seventeen,  and  Joseph  Van  Beb- 
ber,  a  young  lad  of  thirteen,  .  .  .  had  crossed  over  in  a 
canoe,  one  morning,  to  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio,  opposite 
Point  Pleasant,  on  an  errand  to  Rhoda's  father,  then  living 
temporarily  in  a  house  that  side  of  the  stream,  when  a  party 
of  Indians  suddenly  made  their  appearance.  Dave,  a  black 
man  belonging  to  Captain  Van  Bebber,  gave  the  alarm,  and 
rushed  into  the  liouse.  The  Indians  attacked  the  house,  but 
were  driven  off  by  Dave  and  Captain  Van  Bebber  with  the  loss 
of  two  or  thi-ee  of  their  number.  Joseph  and  Rhoda,  in  their 
terror,  hastened  to  the  canoe,  whither  the  Indians  pursued 
them,  killed  and  scalped  the  young  lady  and  took  Joseph  a 
prisoner  to  Detroit.  .  .  .  While  at  Detroit,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  notorious  Simon  Girty,  then  [as  he  said]  a 
pensioner  [on  half  pay]  for  services  in  the  Revolution  He 
said  Girty  was  an  affable  man,  but  extremely  intemperate. 
Girty  denied  to  him  that  he  was  the  instigator  of  the  death  of 
Colonel  Crawford ;  but  that  he  went  so  far  to  save  him  that 
his  own  life  was  in  danger." — Howe's  Historical  Collections 
of  Virginia,  p.  367.  It  is  evident  that  ihe  capture  of  the 
son  of  Van  Bebber  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  Indian 
war,  whicii,  in  this  chapter,  is  described  as  actually  exist- 
ing in  the  West ;  but  it  is  an  exaggeration  to  say  that, 
at  that  period,  Girty  was  extremely  intemperate.     He  would 

•  Of  course,  this  was  all  false. 

t  Spencer's  Narrative  ("Indian  Captivity"),  p.  36  et  soq. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  271 

occasionally  get  dnink ;  and  he  was  rather  more  inclined  to 
the  "  flowing  bowl  "  than  when  he  left  Pittsburgh  ;  but  he  was 
far  from  being  an  habitual  drunkard. 

Note  II. — The  part  taken  by  Simon  Girty  at  St.  Clair's 
defeat  has  not,  heretofore,  been  well  o  iderstood. 

"  Simon  Girty  figured  in  the  terrible  defeat  of  the  brave 
but  unfortunate  St.  Clair,  November  4,  1791,  and  was  evi- 
dently a  personage  of  some  importance,  but  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  Indian  side  of  the  story  of  these  early  and  bloody 
days  is  not  recorded,  the  part  he  took  is  not  clear." — Maga- 
zine of  American  History,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  271.  It  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  affidavit,  or  statement,  of  May,  before  referred 
to,  escaped  the  notice  of  the  writer  of  the  foregoing,  ar  it 
makes  very  clear  the  part  Girty  took  in  the  action. 

"At  about  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  (but  after  the  morn- 
ing parade),  the  militia,  .  .  .  while  engaged  in  preparing 
their  morning  meal,  were  attacked,  unexpectedly  attacked,  by 
a  large  body  of  Indians,  supposed  to  have  been  commanded 
by  the  infamous  renegade  Simon  Cirty." — Isaac  Smucker,  in 
Annual  Report  of  the  (Ohio)  Secretary  of  State,  1880,  p.  31. 
While  it  is  certain  that  Girty  commanded  the  Wyandots  only, 
on  that  memorable  occasion,  it  may  have  been  that  he  led  in 
the  attack — that  the  Wyandots  were  the  first  to  engage  in  the 
action.  • 

Note  III. — Two  prisoners  to  the  Pottawattamies  came  in 
to  Fort  Jefferson  in  July,  "^7*2,  reporting  that  the  Indians 
would  hear  no  propositiohs  lor  peace  until  all  forts  and  set- 
tlements north  of  the  Ohio  ".sere  abandoned;  that  they  would 
kill  all  peace  messcr-gers  and  deserters  coming  to  them ;  and 
that  Simon  Girty  was  personally  present  at  the  last  attack  on 
Fort  Jefferson  (June  25th),  made  by  more  than  one  hundred 
Indians. — Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography, 
Vol.  XII,  pp.  45,  46. 


272  Hidtory  of  the  Oirtys. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Indian  Agent  McKee,  at  the  Mauniee  Rapids,  was  rontin- 
ually  planning  expeditions  against  the  Americans,  to  be  car- 
ried on  by  the  Indians,  under  the  leadership  of  white  men^ 
when  they  could  be  induced  to  go;  and  none  were,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  more  willing  to  engage  in  this  warfare,  and, 
with  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  march  toward  the  settle- 
ments upon  the  Ohio,  than  refugees  from  the  states.  The 
prowess  exhibited  by  Simon  Girty  of  late  made  it  an  easy 
matter  to  induce  the  savages,  with  him  in  command,  to  un- 
dertake expeditions  of  more  than  ordinary  danger.  It  was 
at  McKee's  suggestion  and  request  that  he  marched,  with 
two  hundred  and  forty-seven  Wyandots  and  Mingoes,  with 
two  white  guides  (prisoners  among  the  savages,  and  k'\.  id  to 
the  disagreeable  duty),  to  strike  at  the  pack-horses  at  a  place 
called  "The  Fallen  Timber,"  between  Forts  St.  Clair  and 
Hamilton. 

It  was  Girty's  determination,  if  he  missed  of  his  object 
there,  to  go  to  Columbia,  and  do  every  mischief  in  his  power 
before  the  meeting  of  the  proposed  council,  so  as  to  influence 
its  sittings ;  in  short,  to  use  his  own  words,  he  "  would  raise 
hell  to  prevent  a  peace."  *  This  preventing  peace  was  the 
great  end  and  aim — the  work  to  be  accomplished  by  the  Brit- 
ish in  Canada,  although  the  letters  of  those  high  in  office  to 
American  officials  were  characterized  by  a  pacific  tone.  How- 
ever, Girty  and  his  warriors  were  recalled.  The  presence  of 
the  former  was  iitiperativelv  demanded  at  "  the  Glaize."  It 
was  resolved  oy  the  Indians,  notwithstanding,  to  undertake  an 
expedition  of  the  kind  after  the  proposed  meeting  of  the  na- 

*  Mny's  Statement:  American  State  Papers — "Indian  Affairs,"  Vol.  1,  p. 
244,  already  cited. 


History  of  the  Qirtys.  278 

tions;  anil  that  resolution  was  successfully  carried  out,  but 
under  the  lead  of  Little  Turtle,  instead  of  Girty. 

The  meeting  of  all  the  Indian  nations  of  the  North-west 
took  place  in  the  fall  of  1702,  at  "The  Glaize."  The  place 
where  the  council  was  held  was  liigh  ground,  on  the  point  be- 
tween the  Auglaize  and  the  Maumee.  Here,  extending  from 
the  latter  river  up  the  first-mentioned  stream,  was  an  open 
space,  on  the  west  and  south  of  which  were  oak  woods,  with 
hazel  undergrowth.  Within  this  opening,  a  few  hundred  yards 
above  the  point,  on  the  st-^  ?p,  high  bank  of  the  Auglaize,  were 
five  or  six  cabins  and  log-houses,  inhabited  principsilly  by  In- 
dian traders.  The  most  northerly,  a  large  hewed  log-house, 
divided  below  into  three  apartments,  was  occupied  as  a  ware- 
house, store,  and  dwelling,  by  George  Ironside,  the  most 
wealthy  and  influential  of  the  traders  "  on  the  point."  Next 
to  this  was  the  house  of  Pirault,  a  French  baker,  and  Mc- 
Kenzie,  a  Scotchman,  who,  in  addition  to  merchandising,  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  a  silversmith,  exchanging  with  the 
Indians  his  brooches,  ear-drops,  and  other  silver  ornaments, 
at  an  enormous  profit,  for  skins  and  furs.  Still  farther  up, 
were  several  families  of  French  and  English ;  and  two  Amer- 
ican prisoners,  Henry  Ball  and  wife,  were  allowed  to  live 
there.  They  were  captured  at  St.  Clair's  defeat,  and  were 
permitted  by  their  masters  to  work  and  earn  the  price  of  their 
ransom ;  he  by  boating  to  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  and  she 
by  washing  and  sewing. 

Fronting  the  house  of  Ironside,  and  about  fifty  yards  from 
the  bank,  was  a  small  stockade,  inclosing  two  log-houses.  In 
one  of  these,  McKee  and  Elliott  stored  their  supplies  of  arms, 
and  other  articles  which  were  now  being  handed  out  to  the 
savages  in  lavish  quantities ;  in  the  other,  lived  a  trader,  men- 
tion of  vhom  will  hereafter  be  made,  and  with  whom  Simon 
Girty  had  his  home  while  the  council  continued.  From  this 
station,  a  fine  view  could  be  had  of  a  large  Indian  village — 
more  than  a  mile  south,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Auglaize — 
Blue  Jacket's  town;  and  of  the  Maumee  river  for  several 
18 


274  History  of  the  Qirtyt.  . 

miles  below.  An  extensive  pruirie,  covered  with  corn,  di- 
rectly opposite,  could  also  be  seen — the  whole  fo/ming  a  very 
handsome  landscape. 

It  was  in  October  when  the  grefj '.  council  was  held.  The 
chiefs  of  all  the  North-wciil  tribes  were  present.  There  were 
representatives  of  the  sov^n  nations  of  Canada  also  in  attend- 
ance. Thither  went  more  than  forty  chiefs  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions. "Besides  these,"  said  Cornplanter,  "there  were  so 
many  nations  that  we  can  not  tell  the  names  of  them." 
Twenty-seven  from  beyond  Canada  were  there — of  course,  by 
their  representatives.  A  largo  number  came  from  westward 
of  the  Mississippi.  B<  *  in  all  tl.'at  assemblage,  there  was  but 
one  white  man — only  oii  Imitted  to  the  council — and  that 
one,  Simon  Girty  !  This  was  a  very  clear  and  striking  proof 
of  the  hold  he  had  upon  the  feelings  of  the  Indians.  To  him, 
but  to  none  other,  not  even  McKee  or  Elliott,  who  were  below, 
at  the  Rapids,  could  they  feel  safe  in  confiding  their  inmost 
thoughts.  It  was,  doubtless,  a  proud  moment  for  the  rene- 
gade. Well  had  he  earned  the  confidence  now  reposed  in  him 
by  the  savajos.  He  advocated  to  the  fullest  extent  what  the 
Indians  desired;  and  he  could,  therefore,  be  trusted  by 
them. 

The  Shawanese  chiefs  spoke  for  war ;  but  the  Six  Nations, 
through  Red  Jacket,  the  Seneca  chief,  advocated  peace,  de- 
claring to  the  assembled  multitude  that  the  United  States  de- 
sired to  hohl  a  council  with  the  nations.  The  eloquence  or 
Red  Jack C;t  '.iduced  them  finally  to  consent  to  an  armistice  ; 
they  would  .'lear  what  the  President  had  to  say,  at  the  Rapids 
of  the  Maumee,  the  next  spring,  "  or  at  a  time  when  the  leaves 
are  fully  out."  But,  even  while  the  Indians  were  in  council, 
two  hundred  Shawanese  and  Miamis,  under  Little  Turtle, 
learning  of  some  threatening  movements  of  the  Americans 
to  the  southward,  marched  to  one  of  their  camps  near  Fort 
St.  Clair,  and  attacked  it  pretty  successfully  on  the  6th  of 
No>  ember.  The  savages  returned  with  a  number  of  scalps, 
many  horses,  and  a  great  deal  of  captured  baggage. 

In  December,  the  American  forces,  now   recruited  and 


History  of  the  Oirtt/a.  276 


trained,  were  gathered  at  a  point  about  twentj-two  miles  be- 
low Pittsburgh,  on  the  Ohio.  The  array  was  called  the  Legion 
of  the  United  States,  and  was  divided  into  four  sub-legions, 
and  provided  with  legionary  and  sub-legionary  officers. 

The  United  States  early  took  measures  to  meet  the  hos- 
tile tribes  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  as  had 
been  suggested  by  them.  Three  Commissioners*  were  ap- 
pointed, but  the  proposed  meeting,  it  was  determined,  should 
be  held  at  Lower  Sandusky.  A  number  of  Quakers  (and  Heck- 
ewelder,  the  Moravian)  were  also  deputed  to  take  part  in  the 
conference.!  Meanwhile  the  Indians  of  the  West,  dissatisfied 
with  the  response  of  the  United  States  to  the  address  sent 
by  them  in  the  previous  October,  had  held  another  council  at 
"  the  Glaize."  This  was  in  February,  1793.  Word  was  sent 
the  Six  Nations  that  they  would  not  listen  to  any  proposition 
from  the  United  States  save  upon  the  basis  of  the  Ohio  river 
as  the  boundary,  and  the  removal  of  the  American  forts  from 
the  Indian  territory.  They  also  informed  them  that  the 
Western  nations  would  hold  a  private  council  at  the  Maumee 
llapids  before  they  would  meet  the  American  Commissioners. 
Simon  Girty  was  present  at  the  meeting  in  February,  so  that 
the  probability  is  he  remained  upon  the  Maumee  during  the 
winter. 

The  "  Preliminary  Council  "  (that  was  to  be  such)  was  be- 
gun in  June,  at  the  Maumee  Rapids,  by  the  North-western 
Indians.  Soon  after  its  commencement  a  message  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  American  Commissioners — meeting  them  at  Fort 
Erie,  in  Canada — asking  explanations  as  to  whether  they  were 
authorized  to  establish  a  boundary  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Indians,  and  indicating'  an  uneasiness  at  the  demon- 
strations of  the  American  troops  upon  the  Ohio.  Sending 
back  a  satisfactory  answer,  the  Commissioners,  on  the  14th 

*  B^nj.  Lincoln,  of  Massacbusetts;  Btjverley  Randolph,  of  Virginia;  and 
Timothy  Pickering,  of  Pennsylvania.  For  their  instructione,  see  American 
State  Papers—"  Indian  Affairs,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  340-342. 

t  For  the  names  of  the  whole  party,  bcl  Rondthaler's  Life  of  Hecke- 
welder,  pp.  131,  182. 


276  History  of  the  Qirtyt. 

of  July,  embarked  for  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river,  which 
they  reached  on  the  twenty-first,  wliere  they  were  obliged  to 
land,  the  British  authorities  at  Detroit  forbidding  their  ap- 
proach farther  toward  Sandusky. 

Leaving  the  Commissioners  where  they  had  landed,  which 
was  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  river,  lot  us  consider  for  a  mo- 
ment the  condition  of  affairs  upon  the  Ohio  and  tlio  Maumee. 
General  Wayne  advanced  hif^  head-quarters  from  Legionville, 
a  short  distance  below  Pittsburgh,  on  the  JJOth  of  April,  to  a 
point  near  Fort  Washington  (Cincinnati),  and  was  there  en- 
gaged in  organizing  and  drilling  his  army,  in  forwarding  sup- 
plies to  Fort  JeflFerson,  and  in  cutting  military  roads  north- 
ward— making  preparations  for  an  immediate  campaign  in  the 
event  of  the  failure  of  the  Commissioners  to  make  peace  with 
the  Indians. 

At  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee  were  assembled  representa- 
tives of  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Miamis,  Pot- 
tawattamies,  Ottawas,  Connoys,  Chippewas,  Seven  Nations  of 
Canada,  Senecas  of  "  the  Glaize  "  (Mingoes),  Nantckokies, 
Mohicans,  Messassagoes,  Creeks,  Cherokees,  and  Munoeys. 
But  the  Six  Nations  Avere  excluded.  Simon  Girty  was  in  at- 
tendance having  remainc<l  at  the  Rapids  since  the  gathering 
in  February  at  "  the  Glaize."  McKee  was  also  there  coun- 
seling with  the  savages  and  dealing  out  supplies  right  and  left 
from  the  government  stores. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  upon  leaving  their 
vessel  in  the  river  took  up  their  abode  at  the  house  of  Elliott, 
which  was  not  far  from  Girty's.  As  McKee  was  Deputy  In- 
dian Agent  for  the  Crown  and  was  at  the  council  upon  the 
Maumee,  along  with  Girty,  they  addressed  him  a  note,  inform- 
ing him  of  their  arrival  and  requesting  that  the  meeting  with 
the  Indians  might  be  hastened.  This  message  was  sent  in 
charge  of  Elliott,  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  July,  to  the 
Rapids. 

On  the  29th,  a  deputation  of  "  upwards  of  twenty  Indians," 
including  a  Wyandot  chief,  and  accompanied  by  Elliott,  Thomas 


History  of  the  Quiy».  277 

MoKee  (son  of  Alexander),  Simon  Girty,  and  Thomas  Smith,* 
an  interpreter,  arrived  on  the  island  in  the  Detroit  river  near 
where  the  CommisdioncrH  were  stopping,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing the  chief  dclivci  d  a  message  to  them  in  writing,  in  the 
name  of  the  "Confederacy"  demanding  a-i  explicit  answer 
to  the  question — "Are  you  fully  authorized  by  the  United 
States  to  continue  and  firmly  to  fix  on  ti>e  Ohio  river  as  the 
boundary  between  your  people  and  ours."  In  presenting  the 
documcat,  the  Wyandot  made  a  speech  which  Girty  translated. 

A  lengthy  reply  in  writing  was  made  by  the  Commissioners 
on  the  thirty-first,  the  gist  of  which  was  that  they  were  not 
authorized  to  fix  the  Ohio  river  as  the  boundary.  This  was 
interpreted  by  Girty  and  a  Mr.  Jones  in  the  Seneca  tongue, 
which  was  well  understood  by  the  Wyandot  chief  and  by  others 
of  the  deputation.  The  rejoinder  was  made  on  the  1st  of  Au- 
gust by  the  same  Wyandot  (Girty  again  interpreting),  the  pur- 
port of  which  was  that  they  would  lay  the  written  document 
of  the  Commissioners  before  the  warriors  upon  the  Maumee; 
but  he  added,  so  Girty  interpreted,  that  they  (the  Commis- 
sioners)  might  "  now  go  homo  !" 

This  piece  of  strategy  on  part  of  either  the  Wyandot  or 
Giity  to  end  the  council  with  the  Western  nations,  was  ira- 
mrdiately  foiled  by  Elliott  mentioning  what  had  been  said,  to 
a  Shawanese  chief  who  was  present,  declaring  that  it  was 
wrong,  and  the  latter  agreed  with  him  ;  but  Girty  insisted  that 
he  had  interpreted  truly  what  the  Wyandot  had  spoken.  How- 
ever, as  the  words  were  of  vital  importance  and  contrary  to 
what  the  interpreters  of  the  Americans  had  heard  other  chiefs 
say,  the  evidence  is  strong  that  the  declaration  was  wholly  *'ie 
work  of  Girty.  Besides,  the  Wyandot  himself  came  back  and 
said  it  was  wrong.  The  matter  was  settled,  finally  by  the  chief 
adding  (what  Girty  now  correctly  interpreted) — *'  Brothers :  In- 
stead of  going  home,  we  wish  you  to  remain  here  for  an  answer 
from  us.  We  have  your  speech  in  our  breasts  and  shall  con- 
sult our  head  warriors."     The  Indians  with  Elliott  and  Girty 

*  For  this  man's  given  name,  I  am  indebted  to  Rondthaler's  Heckewelder, 
p.  138. 


278  History  of  the  Qirtya. 

thereupon  returned  to  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee  with  the 
written  speech  of  the  Commissioners.  Heckehelder,  who  was 
present  at  this  meeting  on  the  island,  declares  that  Girty 
"  supported  his  insolence  by  a  quill  or  long  feather  run  through 
the  under  part  of  his  nos'?  cross  ways."  * 

On  Friday,  the  16th  of  August,  two  Wyandot  runners  ar- 
rived at  the  Detroit  river  and  handed  to  the  Commissioners  a 
final  answer  from  the  Indian  council.  It  was  in  effect  that 
the  Ohio  river  must  bo  made  the  dividing  line  between  the  In- 
dian lands  and  those  of  the  United  States ;  that  they  would 
agree  to  no  other  boundary.  A  brief  reply  was  returned, 
that  this  was  impossible  and  that  the  negotiation  was  &t  an 
end.f  Information  of  the  failure  of  the  Commissioners  to  ar- 
range matters  with  the  Indians  was  rapidly  communicated  to 
General  Wiiyne  and  hostile  movements  were  made  at  once 
from  the  Ohio  toward  the  Maumee.  On  both  sides  the  war 
was  renewed. 

There  are  incidents  connected  with  the  visit  of  the  Com- 
missioners and  the  Quakers  to  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  of  in- 
terest to  our  narrative,  as  they  refer  to  the  f.mily  of  Girty. 
One  of  the  Friends  (William  Savery)  kept  a  journal,  from 
which  we  make  an  extract,  beginning  with  the  3d  of  August, 
1793,  just  at  the  time  when  all  were  awaiting  the  final  answer 
from  the  Indian  council : 

"  3d.  The  vessel  called  Detroit,  bound  to  Fort  Erie,  ap- 
pearing in  sight,  I  wrote  a  hasty  letter.  Appointed  a  meeting 
to  be  held  at  Simon  Girty's,  to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock. 

"  4th.  First-day  morning.  Very  rainy,  and  much  wet  in 
my  tent ;  rose  about  three  o'clock,  bundled  up  my  mattress, 
and  tied  it  in  jl  painted  cloth,  and  sat  upon  it  till  sunrise.  The 
rain  continuing,  three  of  us  went  to  Simon  Girty's,  but  find- 

•  Hecke'welder's  Narrative,  pp.  402,  403. 

t  American  State  Papers — '  Indian  Affairs,'  Vol.  I,  pp.  842-357.  While 
it  18  true,  as  we  have  shown,  that  Girty  took  a  very  active  part  with  the  In- 
dians and  aided  powerfully  to  bring  to  naught  the  negotiations,  it  can  not 
be  said,  with  truth,  that  he  alone  secured  the  failure.  It  is  error,  therefore, 
in  Appleton's  Oyclopadia  of  American  Biography  (art.  "Simon  Girty")  to 
claim  it  for  him. 


History  of  the  Girtya.  279 

ing  none  met,  except  the  family,  returned.  Captain  Hamil- 
ton, an  amiable  man,  and  an  officer  in  the  Fifth  Regiment, 
dined  with  us.  The  Chippeway,  a  vessel  bound  from  Fort 
Erie  to  Detroit,  brought  one  hundred  and  eighty  Indians  and 
landed  them  at  the  Miami  [Maumee]  river.  The  afternoon 
being  pleasant,  had  a  meeting  at  Simon  Girty's,  about  one  and 
a  half  miles  from  our  camp,  at  which  a  number  of  Indians 
were  present  and  behaved  soberly.  General  [Benjamin] 
Lincoln,  General  Chapin,  Captain  Hamilton,  Lieutenant 
Givans,  and  several  seamen,  also  attended ;  I  believe  it  was  to 
satisfaction.  The  few  scattered  white  people  in  this  Indian 
country,  many  of  whom  have  been  prisoners  of  war,  have  no 
opportunity  of  public  worship;  yet  some  of  them  are  glad  of 
our  meetings;  among  whom  was  the  wife  of  Simon  Girty,  who 
also  had  been  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians."  * 

Along  the  Maumee  during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  after 
the  breaking  up  of  the  council  at  the  Rapids,  there  was 
much  excitement.  It  was  plainly  foreseen  that  that  stream 
the  next  year  would  be  the  seat  of  war  with  the  savages. 
Causes  of  irritation  having  arisen  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  war  also  seemed  not  to  be  among  the  im- 
possible events  that  might  soon  happen  between  the  two  gov- 
ernments. So  the  savages  were  more  openly  encouraged  ;  for, 
in  case  of  a  rupture  between  the  two  powers,  they  would  be 
found,  as  during  the  Revolution,  valuable  auxiliaries.  Girty 
returned  to  his  home  (only  two  days'  sail  from  the  Rapids) 
some  time  during  the  autumn.  Here  he  remained  during  the 
winter,  frequently,  however,  visiting  Detroit. 

NoTK. — Heokewelder's  account  of  the  termination  of  the 
Commissioners'  efforts  to  arrange  matters  with  the  savages 
assembled  on  the  Maumee  is  as  follows  (see  his  Life  by  Rond- 
thaler,  pp.  134,  135) : 

"August  16th.  Two  young  Wyandots  arrived  from  the 
council,  with  a  written  speech  to  the  Commissioners  in  re- 

*  A  Journal  of   the  Life,  Travels,  and   Religious  Laburs  of   William 
Savery  (Pbiladelphia,  1863),  p.  67. 


280  .  History  of  the  Girtys. 

ply  to  their  former  speech  delivered  on  this  ground ;  which 
address  was  both  impertinent  and  insolent,  being  intended  to 
put  an  end  to  the  treaty  business.  The  language  in  the 
speech  was  such  that  no  person  having  knowledge  of  the  In- 
dians and  their  modes  of  expression,  would  believe  it  an  In- 
dian speech ;  but  be  that  now  as  it  may,  there  were  assembled 
at  Miami  [Rapids  of  the  Maumee]  by  this  time  fifteen  hundred 
warriors,  and,  anxious  for  mischief,  they  threw  off  the  mask.  The 
messengers  [the  two  young  Wyandots]  having  gone  off  agreeably 
to  Simon  Girty's  orders,  after  they  had  delivered  their  message, 
the  Commissioners  sent  after  them,  desiring  them  to  take  an 
answer  back  to  the  council,  which  they  agreed  to.  We  saw 
quite  plainly  that  the  Indians  were  not  allowed  .to  act  freely 
and  independently,  but  were  under  the  influence  of  evil  ad- 
visers ;  wherefore  this  speech  was  to  convince  them  of  the  pains 
the  United  States  had  taken  to  bring  about  a  peace  with  them  ; 
and  that  as  they  had  slighted  this  golden  opportunity  and  been 
inattentive  to  their  own  welfare  and  disappointed  the  United 
States,  they  mast  abide  by  the  consequence,  and  blame  them- 
sei  /es  and  their  advisers  alone  if  the  result  should  be  dis- 
astrous." 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  281 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  year  1794  was  one  of  great  activity  for  Simon  Girty 
as  "  British  interpreter  " — for  this  was  his  Dnly  official  desig- 
nation. He  received  pay  by  the  day  for  this  work.  Besides 
this,  he  got  regularly  his  half  pay,  or  pension,  and  was,  sub- 
sequently', as  will  be  hereafter  seen,  granted  the  land  by  the 
Crown  which  had  been  promised  him.  He  was  seen  in  Febru- 
ary, in  Detroit,  by  an  American,  under  circumstances  which 
will  now  be  related. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  1794,  Jacob  Lewis,  in  an  endeavor 
to  rescue  from  captivity  a  sister  of  his — Mrs.  Joseph  Kinan — 
reached  Detroit  from  New  Jersey.  One  day  while  sitting 
talking  with  a  gentleman — Dr.  Freman — at  his  house  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  town,  the  latter  suddenly  exclaimed :  "  Here 
comes  Simon  Girty."  As  Lewis  had  heard  of  the  renegade, 
and  knew  v/hat  his  reputation  was  among  Americans,  he  was 
not  only  surprised,  but  alarmed.  Girty  entered  the  house 
without  knocking;  and,  without  saying  a  word,  stood  looking 
at  the  American  stranger.  He  had  evidently  been  drinking, 
which  fact  made  his  presence  any  thing  but  agreeable.  After 
a  few  minutes,  in  which  he  stood  still  as  a  statue,  Lewis 
asked  him  if  he  had  ever  seen  him  before.  "  No,"  was  his 
emphatic  answer ;  "  but  if  ever  I  see  you  again,  I  shall  know 
you,"  at  the  same  time  drawing  out  from  its  sheath  a  large 
butcher-knife  and  throwing  it  down  between  the  American  and 
the  gentleman  with  whom  the  latter  was  conversing.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  he  picked  up  the  dangerous  weapon 
and  left  the  house.  Lewis  saw  Girty  several  times  afterward, 
but  was  always  well  treated  by  him. 

Jacob  succeeded,  finally,  in  rescuing  his  sister,  after  much 
difficulty,  from  the  savages.  He  looked  upon  Girty  as  "  grown 
old,  broken  down,  and  dissipated,  so  much  so  that  he  was 


282  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

neither  fit  for  a  soldier  or  an  Indian."  *  But  this  estimate 
made  of  the  "  British  interpreter "  was  quite  an  erroneous 
one.  It  is  true  that,  at  home  and  in  Detroit,  he  was  frequently 
under  the  influence  of  liquor,  but  he  was  not  "  grown  old,"  as 
onr  previous  record  discloses,  nor  was  he  "  broken  down,"  as 
the  sequel  shows. 

In  the  same  spring  of  1794,  Girty  was  again  upon  the  Mau- 
mee.  His  services  as  interpreter  were  now  greatly  in  de- 
mand, for  the  Governor  of  Canada  was  marching  thither  with 
a  force  of  regulars,  not  actually  to  join  with  the  savages  in 
taking  the  field  against  Wayne,  but  in  doing  every  thing  he 
well  could,  to  assist  them  short  of  this.  After  reaching  the 
Maumee,  he  proceeded  to  the  erection  of  a  fort  at  the  rapids, 
to  the  great  indignation  of  Washington.  The  fortress  was 
located  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  river,  nearly  opposite 
the  site  of  what  is  now  Perrysburgh,  Ohio.  It  was  built  for 
the  express  purpose  of  supporting  the  operations  of  the  In- 
dians. The  British  authorities  were  almost  in  open  war  with 
General  Wayne.f 

The  time  had  now  arrived  for  active  operations  on  part  of 
the  Indians.  A  blow  was  to  be  struck  against  the  advancing 
array  of  the  Americans,  and  Girty  was  to  join  in  the  affair. 
It  was  planned  by  McKee  that  the  warriors  should  march  to 
attack  convoys  and  any  garrisons  that  could  be  enticed  out  of 
forts.  The  Indians  were  led  by  Little  Turtle.  His  force 
amounted  to  more  than  one  thousand  savages.  Many  white 
men  besides  Girty  helped  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  enemy — 
Thomas  McKee,  son  of  Alexander  McKee,  was  one  of  these. 
By  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  the  Indians  had  reached  the 
site  of  the  present  town  of  St.  Mary's,  in  what  is  now  Au- 
glaize county,  Ohio,  which  shows  they  must  have  started 
from  "  the  Glaize  "  (or  "  Grand  Glaize,"  as  it  was  frequently 

•  McBride's  Pioneer  Biogrnphy,  Vol.  II,  pp.  269-276.  "He  [Simon 
Girly]  had  a  fiimily  and  lived  at  Maiden,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  [De- 
troit] river."— Id.,  p.  276. 

t  Compare  Smith's  History  of  Wisconsin,  Vol.  I,  p.  199. 


History  of  the  Oirtys.  283 

called),  marched  up  the  Auglaize  river  to  a  point  where  it 
was  necessary  to  leave  the  stream  in  order  to  march  directly, 
in  a  south-west  direction,  for  Fort  Recovery. 

At  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth  of  June, 
one  of  the  American  escorts,  consisting  of  ninety  riflemen 
and  fifty  dragoons,  commanded  by  Major  William  McMahon, 
was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  had  now  reached  their  ob- 
jective point — Fort  Recovery.  The  fighting  began  under  the 
walls  of  the  fort,  and  was  followed  by  a  general  assault,  "  im- 
prudently made,"  afterward  said  McKee,  upon  the  post  and 
garrison.  The  enemy  were  soon  repulsed  with  considerable 
loss,  but  immediately  rallied  and  renewed  their  attack. 
They  kept  up  a  heavy  and  constant  fire,  at  a  more  re- 
spectable distance,  for  the  remainder  of  the  day,  which  was 
answered  with  spirit  and  effect  by  the  garrison,  and  that  part 
of  Major  McMahon's  command  that  had  regained  the  post. 
The  savages  were  employed  during  the  night,  which  was  dark 
and  foggy,  in  carrying  off  their  dead  by  torch-light,  which  oc- 
casionally drew  a  fire  from  the  fort.  They  succeeded  so  well, 
however,  that  there  were  but  eight  or  ten  bodies  left  on  the 
field,  and  those  were  within  easy  reach  of  the  fire  from  the 
fortification. 

The  enemy,  on  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  renewed  the 
attack,  but  were  ultimately  compelled  to  retreat  ingloriously, 
from  that  very  field  where,  on  the  fourth  of  November,  1791, 
they  had  been  so  proudly  victorious.  The  loss  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  twenty-two  killed,  thirty  wounded,  and  three  miss- 
ing ;  that  of  the  enemy,  according  to  their  own  admission, 
was  very  severe — more  than  they  suffered  at  St.  Clair's  de- 
feat. It  was  an  unexpected  reverse  to  the  Indians ;  and, 
upon  their  return,  it  required  the  most  active  exertions  of 
the  British  at  their  new  post  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  ("  Fort 
Miami,"  as  it  was  called),  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  sav- 
ages, notwithstanding  they  could  boast  of  having  inflicted  con- 
siderable loss  upon  the  Americans.  Girty,  in  this  attack,  fought 
with  his  usual  bravery  ;  but  whether  he  had  any  command  is 


284  History  of  the  Qirtya. 

unknown.  It  was  the  last  battle  against  his  own  countrymen 
in  which  he  took  an  active  part.* 

All  through  the  early  months  of  1794,  Wayne  was  busily 
engaged  in  preparing  for  a  sure  blow  when  the  proper  time 
came.  On  the  26th  of  July,  a  large  number  of  mounted  men 
from  Kentucky  joined  him  at  Fort  Greenville,  and  on  the 
twenty-eighth  the  legion  began  its  forward  movement.  The 
point  aimed  at  was  "  the  Glaize,"  but  Wayne  feinted  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  savages  to  the  head  of  the  Maumee  and 
to  the  Rapids.  It  is  probable  but  for  the  desertion  of  one  of 
his  men  he  would  have  succeeded  in  his  strategem  and  sur- 
prised the  "  Grand  Glaize."  As  it  was,  he  was  so  near,  that 
they  were  compelled  to  abandon  the  place  precipitately.  Here 
at  the  junction  of  the  Auglaize  and  Maumee,  Wayne  built 
Fort  Defiance. 

From  this  post,  it  was  determined  to  march  down  the  river 
and  meet  the  foe  who  were  in  force  near  the  British  fort. 
Meanwhile,  an  effort  was  made  for  the  last  time  to  bring  about 
peace  with  tha  savages  without  further  bloodshed,  but  it  re- 
sulted only  in  the  foe  asking  for  time,  which  Wayne  was  not 
disposed  to  give.  On  the  15th  of  August,  the  legion  was 
again  on  the  march.  Three  days  more,  and  forty-one  miles 
had  been  reached,  when  some  light  works  were  commenced  to 
secure  the  baggage  during  the  expected  battle.  On  the 
twentieth,  all  baggage  being  left  in  "  Fort  Deposit,"  as  the 
place  was  called,  the  army  moved  down  the  Maumee,  on  its 
north  bank,  to  fight  the  Indians,  if  it  was  war  they  wanted. 

The  enemy,  upon  abandoning  "  the  Glaize,"  soon  began  to 
rendezvous  at  the  Rapids,  near  the  British  post.  The  de- 
ficiencies in  arms,  ammunition,  and  equipments  were  there  sup- 
plied them  by  the  commander  of  the  fort.     There,  they  were 

•"Girtyand  his  Wyandots,"  says  the  Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  p.  272,  "were  found  arrayed  against  the  Americans  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1794,  and  they  toolc  part  in  the  desperate  attack  on  Fort  Recovery, 
on  the  30tb  of  June."  But  I  have  seen  no  evidence  that  he  either  Ittd  those 
savaged  or  fought  more  especially  with  them  than  with  others  present  on 
that  occasion. 


History  of  the  Qirttji.  ,       285 

fed  with  regular  rations  from  the   king's  stores,  consisting  of 
flour  and  Irish  beef.     This  was  substantial  aid. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  McKee  wrote  the  commandant  at 
Detroit  that  he  was  glad  that  such  exertions  were  being  made 
by  hiin  to  supply  the  Indians  with  provisions.  He  declared 
that  scouts  had  been  sent  up  to  view  the  situation  of  Wayne's 
army,  and  he  added :  "  We  now  muster  one  thousand  Indians. 
All  the  lake  Indians  from  Saginaw  downwards  should  not  lose 
one  moment  in  joining  their  brethren,  as  every  accession  of 
strength  is  an  addition  to  their  spirits."  The  principal  na- 
tions there  gathered  were  the  Miamis,  Shawanese,  Delawares, 
Ottawas,  and  Wyandots — something  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
in  all,  when,  on  the  20th  of  August,  they  chose  their  ground 
and  awaited  the  attack  of  Wayne.  Their  position  was  a 
formidable  one,  about  four  miles  above  the  British  fort,  and 
on  the  same  side  of  the  Maumee.  In  their  front,  the  ground 
was  covered  by  old  fallen  timber,  occasioned,  years  previous, 
by  a  tornado.  The  Indians  formed  in  three  lines,  within  sup- 
porting distance  of  each  other.  They  extended  for  nearly 
two  miles  at  right  angle.-»  with  the  river.  Girty,  Elliott,  and 
McKee  "  were  in  the  field,  bat  at  a  respectable  distance  and 
near  the  river."  *  They  doubtless  had  a  premonition  that  the 
day  would  end  in  disaster. 

The  American  army  moved  to  the  attack — the  legion  on  the 
right,  its  flank  covered  by  the  Maumee ;  one  brigade  of 
mounted  volunteers  on  the  left,  and  the  other  in  the  rear. 
A  select  battalion  of  like  troops  moved  in  front  of  the 
legion,  which  was  directed  to  keep  sufficiently  advanced, 
so  as  to  give  timely  notice  for  the  soldiers  to  form  in  case  of 
action,  it  being  yet  undetermined,  so  far  as  Wayne  was  con- 
cerned, whether  the  Indians  would  decide  for  peace  or  war. 
After  advancing  about  five  miles,  the  corps  in  front  received 
so  severe  a  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  were  secreted  in  the 
woods  and  high  grass,  as  to  compel  them  to  retire.  The  legion 
was  immediately  formed  in  two  lines,  principally  in  a  close, 

*  American  State  Papon — "  Indian  Affairs,"  Vol,  I,  p.  494. 


286  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

thick  wood,  which  extended  for  miles  on  the  left  and  for  a 
considerable  distance  in  front,  the  fallen  tirooer  before  spoken 
of  rendering  it  impracticable  for  the  cavalry  to  act  with  effect, 
and  affording  the  Indians  thfe-  most  favorable  protection  for 
their  mode  of  warfare.  Wayne  soon  discovered,  from  the 
weight  of  their  fire  and  the  extent  of  their  lines,  that  the 
savages  were  in  full  force  and  in  possession  of  their  favorite 
ground,  and  were  endeavoring  to  turn  his  left  ilank.  He 
therefore  gave  orders  for  the  second  line  to  advance  and  sup- 
port the  first.  At  the  same  time,  the  whole  of  the  mounted 
volunteers  were  directed  to  gain  and  turn  the  right  flank  of 
the  enemy  by  a  circuitous  route.  >  .. 

The  front  line  was  now  ordered  to  advance  with  trailed  arms 
and  rouse  the  Indians  from  their  coverts  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and,  when  up,  to  deliver  a  close  and  well-directed 
fire  on  their  backs,  followed  by  a  brisk  charge,  so  as  not  to 
give  them  time  to  load  again.  The  legionary  cavalry  Avere 
ordered  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  savages  next  the  river,  the 
ground  affording  a  favorable  field  for  that  corps  to  act  in. 
All  these  orders  were  obeyed  with  spirit  and  promptitude,  but 
the  charge  by  the  first  line  of  infantry  was  so  rapid  and  im- 
petuous that  the  enemy — Indians,  Canadian  militia,  and 
volunteers — were  quickly  driven  back,  giving  the  mounted 
volunteers  and  second  line  of  the  legion  little  opportunity  to 
engage  the  foe,  who  were  forced  back,  in  the  course  of  an 
hour,  more  than  two  miles,  and  finally  were  put  to  flight. 
The  victory  was  complete.  Wayne's  loss  was — killed,  thirty- 
three  ;  wounded,  one  hundred :  that  of  the  Indians  is  un- 
known. Girty  made  good  his  escape  ;*  so,  also,  McKee  and 
Elliott.     Such  was  "  the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timber." 


*  "Oirly  and  his  Wynndots  .  .  .  were  present  at  the  battle  of  Fallen 
Timber  on  tho  20th  of  .  .  .  August  [1794],  when  old  Mad  Anthony 
Wayne  visited  such  a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  brave  but  fitted  savages." — 
Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  272.  It  is  true  that  Girty  and 
the  Wyandots  were  in  this  battle.  He  did  not,  however,  lead  them  in  the 
action,  nor  was  he  actively  engat^ed  therein.  They  were  not,  therefore, 
"  his  Wyandots."     But  the  latter  fought  bravely. 


Hi$lory  of  the  Oirtya.  287 

After  the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timber,  McKce  wrote  to  the 
Detroit  commandant  that  it  would  require  great  efforts  to  in- 
duce the  Indiana  to  remain  in  a  body.  He  and  Girty  now 
sailed  for  Detroit,  where  plans  were  concerted  to  call  the  sav- 
ages again  in  council.  The  governor  of  Canada,  with  McKee 
and  Captain  Brant  (the  latter  having  with  him  one  hundred 
Indians — Mohawks  and  Messassagoes),  repaired  to  the  Miami 
fort  upon  the  Mauraee.  The  chiefs  of  the  various  nations 
were  gathered  there,  and  invited  by  the  governor  to  meet  him 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river,  to  hold  a  treaty,  which  in- 
vitation was  immediately  accepted.  At  this  gathering,  which 
was  held  in  October,  the  Indians  were  advised  to  propose 
a  truce  until  snring.  More  presents  than  ever  were  made 
by  the  British.  The  chiefs  were  asked  to  hold  a  grand 
co'v  oil,  after  the  next  winter  was  over,  for  the  purpose  of 
compelling  the  Americans  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the 
Ohio.  Meanwhile,  they  could  convey  all  their  lands  on  the 
west  side  of  that  river  to  the  king,  to  be  held  in  trust,  so  as 
to  give  the  British  a  pretext  for  helping  them.  The  Indians 
promised  to  do  what  the  governor  asked — at  least  some  of 
them.  At  this  council  was  Simon  Girty.  He  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  to  further  the  wishes  of  the  British.*  But  it 
was  the  last  opportunity  for  him  to  display,  in  a  general 
council,  his  animosity  to  his  countrymen — the  Americans. 
The  chiefs  had  experienced  enough  of  war. 

During  November,  Girty  assisted  McKee,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Maumee,  where  the  Indians  (who  had  had  all  their  corn 
destroyed  by  Wayne)  were  in  huts,  in  furnishing  them  with 
provisions.  About  the  Ist  of  January,  1795,  he  returned  to 
his  home  in  Canada.  His  wild  career  in  the  Ohio  country 
was  well-nigh  ended. 

•  "Camp  Miami  Villages  [Ft.  Wayne],  11th  October,  1794. — A  Canadian 
(Rozello)  with  n  flag  arrlyed  this  evening;  hia  business  was  to  deliver  up 
three  prisoners  in  exchange  for  his  brother,  who  was  taken  on  the  20th  Au- 
gust; he  brings  information  that  the  Indians  are  in  council  with  [Simon] 
Girty  and  McKee  near  the  fort  of  Detroit ;  that  all  the  tribes  are  for  peace 
except  the  Shawan38e,  who  are  determined  to  prosecute  the  war." — Daily 
Journal  of  Wayne's  Canipaig  -,  in  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  I,  p.  855. 


288  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

It  was  not  long  after  Wayne's  return  to  Fort  Greenville 
(whither  he  had  retired  subsequent  to  his  victory  over  the 
savages),  before  the  wishes  of  the  Indians  to  make  peace  be- 
gan  to  be  made  apparent  to  him.  On  the  last  days  of  Decem- 
ber, the  chiefs  of  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Sacs,  Pottawatta- 
mies,  and  Miamis  came  into  Fort  Wayne,  a  post  which  had 
been  erected — now  the  site  of  the  city  of  the  same  name  in 
Indiana — with  friendly  messages.  During  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1795,  these  chiefs,  together  with  representatives  from 
the  Delawares,  Ottawas,  Wyandots  of  Sandusky,  and  Shawa- 
nese,  entered  into  preliminary  articles  at  Fort  Greenville 
with  the  commander-in-chief.  During  the  winter,  prisoners 
were  exchanged,  and  preparations  made  on  both  sides  to  meet 
in  June  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  definite  treaty.  These 
arrangements  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  British,  Simon  Girty 
was  sent  to  admonish  them  to  desist.  It  was  his  last  effort, 
in  a  public  way,  to  endeavor  to  influence  the  Western  nations 
to  still  hold  out  against  the  Americans ;  and  the  effort  was  a 
signal  failure.  He  returned  to  Detroit  to  report  that  nothing 
could  change  the  minds  of  the  chiefs  of  the  various  tribes. 
He  then  made  his  way  to  his  Canadian  home,  never  again  to 
appear  in  the  Indian  country  as  a  British  emissary  to  antago- 
nize the  interests  of  America. 


Hiittory  of  the  Qirtyn.  289 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

In  going  with  the  enemy  to  assail  Fort  Henry  at  Wheeling, 
in  September,  1782,  James  Girty,  for  the  last  time,  so  far  as 
it  is  known,  marched  to  attack  his  own  countrymen.  Living 
with  the  iShawanese  at  Wapatomica,  he  hn<l  become  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  country  to  the  westward,  especially  upon 
the  St.  Mary's,  luid  upon  the  west  branch  of  the  Great  Miami, 
now  known  as  Loraniie  creek.  Td  his  mind,  tlie  point  where 
the  portage  began  at  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  leading  south 
across  to  the  last-named  stream,  was  one  where  a  trading- 
house  might  properly  be  established.  It  was  identical  with 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  St,  Mary's,*  in  Auglaize 
county,  Ohio,  and  was  then  a  small  Indian  village.  He  had 
already  been  trafficking  to  a  considerable  extent  with  the 
Shawanese  and  other  tribes,  purchasing  his  supplies  at  De- 
troit. He  had  also  married  a  Shawanese  woman,  who  was 
known  to  the  whites  as  Betsey.  She  could  speuk  English. 
In  1783,  immediately  after  being  assured  that  peace  between 
t}i9  United  States  and  Great  Britain  had  been  made,  he  moved 
his  family  and  effects  to  the  place  just  described,  where  he 
was  soon  established  as  a  trader.  His  new  homo  subsequently 
received  the  name  of  "  Girty's  town,"  because  of  his  ^avin<i 
lived  there,  which  it  retained  long  after  he  had  left.f 

James  enjoyed  for  a  little  over  seven  years  a  complete  mo- 
nopoly of  the  Indian  trade  at  his  trading-house.  He  shipped 
peltry  down  the  St.  Mary's  to  the  Maumee ;  thence,  down  the 
stream  last  mentioned  to  the  Rapids  (a  point  already  fre- 
quently mentioned),  and  from  that  place  across  Lake  Erie  to 
Detroit,  returning  with  stores  to  be  disposed  of  to  the  Indians 

*  See  An  Historioal  Account  of  the  Expedition  again^it  Sanduslty,  p.  108. 
t  Compare,  in  this  connection,  Sutton's   History  of  Auglaize  County, 
Ohio,  pp.  26,  27. 
19 


290  Hintory  of  the  Oiriyn. 

at  large  profits.     These  goods  wore  brought  by  water,  right  to 
his  door. 

During  his  residence  nt  what  id  now  St.  Mary's,  James  was 
frc<|ucntly  frightened  by  reports  of  the  advance  of  American 
troops,  especially  in  17HG  of  Colonel  Logun  ;  and  on  several 
occasions,  he  had  his  goods  packed  nady  for  iminediuto  re- 
moval ;  but,  until  the  fall  of  1700,  thty  all  proved  false  alarms. 
lie  had  timely  warning  of  the  approach  of  General  Ilarmar  in 
that  year ;  whereupon,  he  moved  his  stock  first  to  the  head  of 
the  Maumee,  and  immediately  after  down  that  river  to  "  Grand 
Glaize,"  where  he  was  out  of  harm's  way. 

Mention  bus  been  made  of  the  captivity  of  young  Spencer, 
and  of  his  visit  upon  the  Maumee,  in  July,  1792,  to  the 
Shawanese  chief.  Blue  Jacket.  He  remained  at  "  the  Glaize" 
until  the  next  February,  when,  near  the  close  of  the  month, 
he  and  the  Indian  family  with  whom  he  lived  proceeded  down 
the  river  some  four  or  five  miles,  and  engaged  in  sugar- 
making.  Wliile  thus  employed,  a  messenger  arrived  at  their 
camp,  and  privately  informed  the  old  Indian  woman  that  the 
British  Indian  agent  from  Detroit  had  arrived  at  the  Grand 
Glaize ;  that  the  boy  had  been  purchased  by  him ;  and  that  he 
(the  messenger)  had  been  sent  to  conduct  him  to  the  Point — 
that  is,  to  "  the  Glaize."  The  young  prisoner,  the  next  morn- 
ing, was  on  his  way  with  the  man  who  had  been  sent  to  get 
him,  greatly  excited  at  the  prospect  of  being  released  from 
captivity. 

"It  was  a  pleasant  morning  on  the  last  day  of  February, 
1793,  that  young  Spencer  bade  adieu  to  his  Indian  friends. 
The  sun,  just  setting,  seemed  to  shine  with  unusual  splendor ; 
never  before,  as  he  thought,  had  it  appeared  so  bright  and 
beautiful.  The  captive  had  been  ut  first  "  as  one  that 
dreamed,"  scarcely  crediting  the  fact  that  he  was  no  longer  a 
prisoner ;  gradually,  however,  as  he  left  his  late  dwelling  far- 
ther and  farther  behind  him,  he  became  assured  and  conscious 
of  the  truth  that  he  was  indeed  free ;  he  was,  as  a  conse- 
quence, like  a  bird  loosed  from  his  cage,  or  a  young  colt  from 
his  stall ;  to  suppress  his  feelings,  or  restrain  his  joy,  would 


HtMtory  of  the  Oirtyn.  291 

have  been  almost  iinpossiMe.  lie  laii;^lic<l,  he  wept,  ho  whis- 
tled, ho  shouted,  and  srnj;  by  turns.  Never  had  ho  moved 
before  with  step  so  elantic — now  skipping  over  logs,  jumping, 
dancing,  and  running  alternntoly,  while  the  messenger,  a 
Frenchman  (whose  mime  he  found  on  itujuiry  to  be  Joseph 
Blanch),  sometimes  stopped  and  looked  at  him  intensely,  as  if 
suspecting  he  was  more  than  half  crazy. 

By  degrees,  the  boy  became  more  temperate;  his  e.^trcme 
joy  gradually  subsided.  He  now  confined  tlie  expression  of 
his  happiness  to  singing  and  whistling,  which  he  kept  up  al- 
most without  intermission  until  the  Auglaize  was  reached, 
when,  stepping  into  a  canoe,  and  crossing  that  river,  in  u  few 
minutes  he  entered  the  hospitable  dwelling  of  Mr.  Ironside. 
This  gentleman  received  him  with  more  than  usual  kindness, 
and,  congratulating  him  upon  his  release  Prom  captivity  very 
heartily,  introduced  him  to  Matthew  Elliott,  the  assistant  Brit- 
ish  Indian  agent,  and  to  a  Mr.  Sharpe,  a  merchant  of  De- 
troit, who  had  accompanied  Elliott  to  the  Auglaize.  Elliott 
received  young  Spencer  with  considerable  hauteur,  and  with 
a  look  that  spoke  that  his  noticing  him  was  condescension,  not- 
withstanding, as  the  boy  afterward  learned,  he  had  been  sent 
by  the  express  order  of  Governor  Simcoe,  of  Canada,  to  ef- 
fect his  ransom  and  convey  him  to  Detroit. 

As  if  such  service  as  rescuing  Spencer  was  degrading,  El- 
liott pretended  that,  being  at  Auglaize  on  public  business,  he 
had  accidently  heard  of  the  captive,  and,  actuated  wholly  by 
motives  of  humanity,  had  procured  his  release,  for  which  he 
had  agreed  to  pay  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars.  The  wife 
of  Ironside  now  kindly  invited  the  boy  to  breakfast ;  but  El- 
liot, objecting  to  the  trouble  it  would  give  her,  ordered  the 
Frenchman  to  take  him  over  to  James  Girty's,  where,  he  said, 
their  breakfast  would  be  provided.  Girty's  home  was  one  of 
the  two  log  houses  before  spoken  of  as  within  a  small  stock- 
ade at  "  the  Glaize,"  where  his  brother  Simon  made  his  head- 
quarters while  at  that  place ;  the  other  house  being  occupied 
by  McKee  and  Elliott,  occasionally,  while  on  the  Maumee. 
James  Girty's  domicil  served  the  doable  purpose  of  a  living- 


292  History  of  the  Girtys. 

room  and  store.  Girty's  wife  soon  furnished  Spencer  and  the 
Frenchman  with  some  coffee,  wheat  l)rcad,  and  stewed  pork 
and  venison,  of  which  the  boy  ate  with  great  gusto,  it  being  so 
mucii  bettor  than  the  food  to  which  he  had  lately  been  accus- 
tomed ;  but  he  had  not  more  than  half  breakfasted  when 
James  Girty  came  in. 

The  latter  seated  himself  opposite  Spencer,  and  said  to 
him  :  "  So.,  my  young  Yankee,  you're  about  to  start  for 
home?"  The  boy  answered:  "  Yes,  sir;  I  l.ope  so."  That, 
he  rejoined,  would  depend  upon  his  master,  i  i  whose  kitchen 
he  had  no  doubt  tlie  youthful  stranger  should  first  ?prve  a  few 
years'  apprenticeship  as  a  scullion.  Then,  taking  his  knife, 
said  (while  sharpening  it  on  a  whetstone)  :  "  I  see  your  ears 
are  whole  yet;  but  I'm  greatly  mistaken  if  you  leave  this 
without  the  Indian  ear-mark,  that  we  may  know  you  when  we 
catch  you  again."  Spencer  did  not  wait  to  prove  whether 
Girty  was  in  jest  or  in  downright  earnest ;  i>ut,  leaving  his 
meal  half  finished,  he  instantly  sprang  from  the  table,  leaped 
out  of  the  door,  and  in  a  few  seconds  took  refuge  in  Mr.  Iron- 
side's house.  On  learning  the  cause  of  the  boy's  flight,  Elliott 
uttered  a  sardonic  laugh,  deriding  his  unfounded  childish  fears, 
as  he  was  pleased  to  term  them ;  but  Ironside  looked  serious, 
shaking  his  head,  as  if  he  had  no  doubt  thi.t  if  Spencer  had 
remained  Girty  would  have  executed  his  threat.  The  boy 
soon  started  down  the  Maumee,  and  reached  Detroit  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1793,  when  he  was  delivered  to  Colonel  Richard 
England,  the  officer  in  command  of  that  post.* 

The  arrival  of  General  Wayne  in  the  vicinity  of  "  the 
Glaize,"  in  1794,  was  made  known  to  James  Girty  in  time  for 
him  to  pack  up  his  goods  and  make  a  safe  retreat  with  his 
family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  two  children — James  and 
Ann — down  the  Maumee.  He  finally  made  his  way  to  De- 
troit, thence  to  Essex  county,  Canada. 

George  Girty,  after  the  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks,  returned, 
it  will  be  remembered,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1782,  to 

•Spencer's  Narrative  ("Indian  Captivity"),  pp.  117-129. 


'     :"     -''■'       History  of  the  Girtys.  _  203 

the  upper  waters  of  the  Mad  river.  He  afterv^ard  so  com- 
pletely gave  himself  up  to  savage  life  that  his  identity  is  with 
difficulty  traced.  It  is  known,  however,  that  he  continued  to 
reside  with  the  Delawares.  From  ''  Buckungehelas  town," 
inhabited  by  Indians  of  that  tribe,  and  located  upon  the  up- 
per waters  of  the  Great  Miami,  he  wrote  Captain  McKee,  on 
the  5th  of  September,  1784,  concerning  aff'airs  there  and 
further  westward.  "  I  have  to  acquaint  you,'"  he  says,  "  that 
some  of  the  Cherokees  and  Shawanese  nrc  gone  a  horse-hunt- 
ing again.  I  am  likewise  informed  that  the  Kickapoos  and 
Weas  have  taken  several  prisoners  lately  from  about  the  Falls 
[Louisville]  and  Salt  creek,  which  has  occasioned  an  army  to 
march  from  the  place  first  mentioned  against  tlicm."'  This 
and  other  information  was  given  McKec  with  as  much  partic- 
ularity as  if  there  was  still  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  His  letter  shows,  in  strong  light,  how  the 
Kentucky  settlements  were  harassed,  even  at  so  late  a  date 
as  the  fall  of  1784. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  after  the  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities between  the  Western  Indians  and  the  United  States, 
George  again  took  part  against  his  countrymen,  as  his  pres- 
ence at  the  attack  upon  Dunlap's  Station  proves,  and  as  the 
following  relation  concerning  the  capti/ity  of  a  boy  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  sufficiently  demonstrates :  Joiin  Brickell 
was  captured  in  February,  1791,  on  the  Alleghany  river,  at 
the  age  of  ten  years,  by  Delawares,  and  muuediately  hurried 
into  the  wihierness.  After  going  a  little  distance,  the  savages 
and  young  iJrickell  felf  in  with  George  Girty.  He  spoke  to 
the  boy  in  English,  and  told  him  that  white  people  had  killed 
Indians,  and  that  the  Indians  had  retaliated,  and  now  there 
was  war,  and  that  he  (Brickell)  was  a  prisoner.  "We  will 
take  ^cu,"  said  he,  "  to  oar  town  and  make  an  Indian  of  you. 
You  Avill  not  be  killed  if  you  go  peaceably;  but,  if  you  try  to 
get  away,  we  will  not  be  troubled  witli  you,  but  we  will  kill 
you  and  take  your  scalp  to  our  town."  Brickell  informed 
Girty  that  he  would  go  peaceably  and  give  them  no  trouble. 

The  next  morning,  the  Indian  who  had  captured  the  boy 


294  HUtory  of  the  Girtys. 

delivered  him  to  the  care  of  Girty,aiul  took  another  direction. 
The  latter,  with  his  young  prisoner,  continued  his  course  to- 
ward the  Tuscarawas.  They  traveled  all  that  day  through 
hunger  and  cold,  camped  at  night,  and  continued  until  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  since  BiickoU 
had  tasted  a  mouthful  of  food.  A  fire  was  then  made,  and 
the  boy  was  tied  to  a  sapling,  while  Girty  went  to  kill  some- 
thing to  eat.  The  boy  untied  himself  before  the  return  of 
Girty,  but  did  not  attempt  to  run  away.  Girty  left  him  at 
the  Tuscarawas  in  charge  of  his  Indian  captor,  whom  they 
met  there.  The  lad,  after  remaining  a  considerable  time  with 
the  Indians,  was  released  from  captivity.* 

NoTK. — In  "An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition 
against  Sandusky,"  it  is  stated  (pp.  197,  198)  that,  "  After 
this  [St.  Clair's  defeat,  Simon]  Girty  was  engaged  in  the  In- 
dian trade  at  Lower  Sandusky,  going  thence  to  '  Girty's  town,' 
on  the  St.  Mary's,  where  he  established  a  trading-house." 
But  this,  it  is  now  well  known,  is  erroneous.  He  never  was  a 
trader  with  the  Indians,  either  at  Lower  Sandusky,  "Girty's 
town,"  or  eldewhere.  The  statement  (only  inferential) 
first  appeared  in  print  in  Howe's  Ohio,  p.  353,  and  then 
in  the  Wyandot  (Kan.)  Gazette,  of  April  18,  1872,  in  an  ar- 
ticle by  the  late  William  Walker,  which  has  already  been  cited 
in  this  narrative.  It  will  be  found  repeated  in  substance  in 
Appleton's  Clyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  Art.  "  Simon 
Girty."     "We  all  know  that  the  headwaters  of  the  St.  Mary's 

■■  • — — *— ■ — ■■—  '         9  •    —•     •••-- '  '  ■-    ■I  —  —..- 

•  Narrativoof  .John  Brickell,  in  th«  American  Pioneer,  Vol.  1,  p.  53. 
The  Ma!;azine  of  Amerieiin  History  (Vol.  XV,  p.  271)  tajs :  "Geori^e  and 
James  Girty  were  as  ..-omplHtely  identified  with  the  Indiatis  all  ti)is  time,  us 
if  they  had  been  actually  born  savages.  They  lived  with  them,  fought  with 
them,  and  apparently  wanted  no  other  society,  and  rid  all  they  could  to 
make  Indians  out  of  the  white  children  they  frequently  captured.'  But 
the  writer  of  this  narrative  has  not  discovered  any  uttempt  of  James  (iirty 
to  make  Indians  out  of  white  children  he  "frequently  captured."  He  was 
from  all  accounts,  willing,  when  upon  the  war-path,  to  tomahawk  young 
and  old;  and  if  children  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians  when  he  was 
on  a  maraud  into  the  border  settlements,  he  seems  to  have  given  himself  no 
trouble  as  to  what  became  of  tbem. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  295 

are  where  old  Fort  Barbee  stood,  just  below  where  the  three 
streams — the  east,  middle,  and  west  branches — form  that 
river.  .  .  .  We  have  spoken  of  James  Girty  as  being  the 
Girty  who  lived  at  the  headwaters  of  the  St.  Marys,  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  old  Indian  town  here.  It  has  been  supposed 
by  many  that  it  was  Simon  who  lived  here." — Sutton's  His- 
tory of  Auglaiae  County,  Ohio,  pp.  26,  27.  Consult,  farther,  as 
to  the  location  of  "  Girty's  town,"  Wayne's  dispatches  ;  also 
the  articles  of  the  Greenville  treaty.  Several  early  published 
maps  give  the  location  correctly. 


296  History  of  the  Qiriyg, 


::^,r: :.;::„:. ;. ,,.;,,;.,^    chapter  xxx.   :-;:,:■.:,,:,-,;:.:,;,;.;.:• 

Let  us  now  consider  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Indian 
country,  as  preparations  were  going  forward  looking  to  a  gen- 
eral gathering  of  all  the  nations  determined  to  make  peace 
with  the  United  States.  Even  Simon  Girty,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  signally  failed  in  his  last  endeavor  to  move  any  of  the 
chiefs  from  their  firm  resolution  to  bury  the  hatchet.  They 
had  had  enough  of  war — enough  of  the  misery  which  war  had 
brought  in  its  path.  Nothing  could  prevent  the  holding  of  a 
great  and  definitive  treaty  with  General  Wayne. 

Nevertheless,  both  Girtv  and  McKee  continued  to  influence 
those  Indians  living  contiguous  to  Detroit,  preventing,  in  the 
end,  a  few  from  going  to  Greenville.  And  Captain  Brant 
was  even  more  influential  at  this  time  than  they  in  his  appeals 
to  the  savages,  arguing  against  any  arrangement  looking  to  a 
permanent  peace.  "  We  should  have  come  in  greater  num- 
bers," said  a  Chippewa  sachem  to  General  Wayne  on  the  18th 
of  July,  1795,  ''  but  f*.:-  Brant's  endeavors  to  prevent  us." 

"  The  commission  you  receiveil  from  Johnson,"  said  McKee 
to  the  Shawanese  chief,  Blue  Jacket,  some  time  before,  "  was 
not  given  you  to  carry  to  the  Americans.  I  am  grieved  to 
find  that  you  have  taken  it  to  them  [referring  ',o  the  pre- 
liminary treaty  of  January  previous,  made  with  General 
Wayne].  It  was  with  much  regret  I  learned  thiit  you  had  de- 
serted your  friends,  who  always  caressed  you,  and  treated  you 
as  a  great  man.  You  have  deranged,  by  your  imprudent  con- 
duct, all  our  plans  for  protecting  the  Indians,  and  keeping 
them  with  us.  T^hey  have  always  looked  up  to  you  for  advice 
and  direction  in  war,  and  you'have  now  broken  the  strong  ties 
which  held  them  all  together  under  your  and  our  direction. 
You  must  now  be  viewed  as  the  enemy  of  your  people  and 
the  other  Indians  whom  ynu  are  seducing  into  the  snares  the 
Americans  have  formed  for  their  ruin ;  and  the  massacre  and 


History  of  the  Girtys.  29T 

destruction  of  these  people  by  the  Americans  must  be  laid  to 
your  cliarge.*'  But  all  was  unavailing  ;  no  arguments,  no  per- 
suasions, no  presents,  of  McKee  had  any  eft'ect  upon  the  great 
majority  of  the  war  chiefs  and  sachems. 

The  struggle  which  ended  in  the  imlependence  of  the  United 
States  was  hardly  over  before  the  treaty  which  had  been 
negotiated  between  this  country  and  Great  Britain  was,  as  we 
have  previously  noted,  openly  violated  by  the  last  mentioned 
power.  In  England  it  was  complained  that  there  was  in  the 
United  States  an  equally  open  violation.  And  so  with  crim- 
inations and  recriminations  matters  went  on.  As  has  already 
been  intimatcMl,  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  Indian  war 
wliich  had  now  for  nearly  six  years  raged  in  the  North-west  was 
the  refusal  of  the  British  government  to  give  up  the  military 
posts  in  this  region.  There  could  be  but  little  hopes  of  a  perma- 
nent peace  so  long  as  these  forts  were  garrisoned  by  English 
troops.  It  was  an  imperative  necessity  that  a  new  treaty  be 
entered  into  between  the  two  countries. 

John  Jay  was  sent  to  England,  and  the  result  was  that  ne- 
gotiations wore  concluded  and  the  "  Jay  treaty,"  as  it  is  called 
in  the  United  States,  signed  on  the  10th  of  November,  1704, 
ninety  days  after  the  victory  of  Wayne  over  the  Indians  upon 
the  Maumcc.  The  particular  article  of  the  treaty  most  im- 
portant to  the  North-west  was  the  one  stipulating  that  the 
Western  posts  should  be  vacated  by  the  English  soldiers. 
Therefore  it  was  that,  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1795, 
with  the  lofty  spirit  of  the  hostile  Indian  tribes  subdued,  there 
seemed  to  be,  and  there  really  was,  with  the  certainty  that 
soon  the  Americans  would  have  actual  possession  of  all  the 
military  posts  in  the  North-west,  the  brightest  prospects  of 
peace  of  a  lasting  nature  with  all  the  savage  nations  between 
the  Great  Lakes  on  the  north  and  the  Ohio  river  on  the  south. 
It  was  "  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished." 

Now,  from  far  and  near  came  the  sachems  and  war  chiefs 
and  others  of  the  different  tribes  to  Greenville ;  and  they  con- 
tinued to  come  until  twelve  nations  had  their  representatives  on 
the  ground,  swelling  the  number  of  the  latter  to  eleven  hundred 


298  History  of  the  Girtua. 

and  thirty.  Tl»e  ussemMed  iniiltitude  were  of  the  Wyandots, 
Delawares,  Sliawanese,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawattamies, 
Miamis,  Eel  Rivers,  Weas,  Piankashaws,  Kickapoos,  and  Kas- 
kaskias.  It  was  the  most  notable  gathering  that  had  ever  be- 
fore taken  place  at  any  council  with  the  Indians,  so  far  as  the 
United  States  was  concerned.  Considering  the  interests  in- 
volved and  the  magnitude  of  the  questions  settled,  it  must 
ever  bo  considered,  perhaps,  the  most  important  of  our  Indian 
treaties.     The  result  was  this  : 

The  Indian  boundary  was  to  commence  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Ohio,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river ;  thence 
to  extend  north  a  little  east  of  Fort  Recovery ;  thence  east- 
wardly  to  the  Muskingum  (now  Tuscarawas  river) ;  thence 
up  the  latter  to  Cuyahoga  portage,  and  down  the  last  named 
stream  to  Lake  Erie,  where  Cleveland  now  stands.  All  west  of 
this  line,  to  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  except  a  few 
small  tracts,  was  to  remain  Indian  territory.  This  settled  the 
question  of  boundary.  It  ceded  to  the  United  States  a  tract 
of  country  west  and  north  of  the  Ohio  river  of  not  less  than 
twenty-five  thousand  square  miles — all  east  of  the  line  drawn 
as  before  described.  There  were  sixteen  detached  portions  of 
territory  west  of  the  line,  also  ceded,  including,  among 
others,  all  the  military  posts  with  contiguous  territory,  soon 
to  be  vacated  by  the  British.  "  It  is  with  infinite  pleasure," 
wrote  General  Wayne  (who,  by  a  commission  dated  the  4th 
of  April,  1794,  and  another  of  the  15th  of  April,  1795,  had 
authority  '  for  settling  a  peace  with  all  the  tribes ')  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  on  the  ninth  of  August  of  the  year  last 
mentioned,  "  I  now  inform  you  that  a  treaty  of  peace  between 
the  United  States  of  America  and  all  the  late  hostile  tribes 
of  Indians  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  was  unanimously  and  vol- 
untarily agreed  to,  and  cheerfully  signed  by  all  the  sachems 
and  war  chiefs  of  the  respective  nations  on  the  third,  and  ex- 
changed on  the  seventh  instant."*  The  Indian  war  of  1790-95 
\ras  ended. 

*  The  gpveral  Hrtieles  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  together  with  a  lengthy 


History  of  the  Girtys.  299 

"  The  relations  between  the  two  countries  [Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States]  were  not  permanently  established  [by 
the  recognition  of  our  independence],  and  discussions  soon 
commenced,  which  assumed  a  character  of  severity.  They 
■were  fraternally  closed  by  Jay's  treaty,  at  the  moment  when 
a  war  appeared  inevitable.  But  during  the  progress  of  these 
discussions,  the  usual  indications  of  Indian  hostilities,  such  as 
have  preceded  and  accompanied  all  our  differences  with  the 
British  Government,  gave  unerrinsj  warning'  of  the  storm 
•which  was  approaching.  It  burst  upon  our  frontiers ;  and 
during  the  administration  of  General  Washington  this  unpro- 
voked war  embarrassed  and  perplexed  the  infant  government. 
.  .  .  Detroit  was  then,  as  in  the  period  of  the  Re\olutiori, 
the  British  Indian  head-quarters.  The  elder  McKee  avus  at 
the  head  of  the  Indian  Department,  and  he  was  aided  by 
Elliott  and  [Simon]  Girty,  men  well  qualified  to  serve  in  such 
a  cause,  where  hands  that  stayed  not,  and  hearts  that  relented 
not,  and  zeal  that  tired  not,  could  furnish  examples  which 
even  savages  might  admire  in  despair."  * 

It  now  only  remained  for  the  United  States  to  get  posses- 
sion of  the  military  posts  of  the  North-west — of  Fort  Miami 
upon  the  Maumee,  and  of  the  forts  at  Detroit  and  Mackinaw. 
About  the  middle  of  May,  1796,  a  force  was  sent  from  Fort 
Wayne  for  that  purpose.  In  July,  the  fort  upon  the  Maumee 
-jind  the  one  at  Detroit  received  each  an  American  garrison  ; 
and,  in  October,  the  United  States  flag  floated  out  upon  the 
breeze  at  Mackinaw.  So  the  general  government  was  in 
actual  possession  before  the  close  of  the  year  of  all  its  terri- 
tory "north-west  of  the  river  Ohio;"  but  the  Indian  nations 
had  for  their  homes  (where  Americans,  wilh  but  here  and 
there  small  tracts  as  exceptions,  had  no  right  of  occupation) 
the  north-west  half  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio,  nearly 
all  of  the  present  Indiana,  and  the  whole  of  the  region  now 


account  of  the  proceedings  attending  the  negotiations  of  the  same,  are  to  be 
found  in  American  State  Papers — "  Indian  Affairs,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  502— 333. 
•  Lewis  Cass,  April,  182". 


300  Hiislvry  of  the  Girtys. 

constituting  the  States  of  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and 
80  much  of  Minnesota  as  lies  east  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

When  the  treaty  of  Greenville  became  known  at  Detroit 
and  ill  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  the  particulars  of  the  "Jay 
treaty"  had  been  fully  digested  there,  it  was  apparent  to- all 
the  inhabitants,  as  well  as  lo  the  British  officers  of  the  army 
.and  Indian  Department,  that  longer  opposition  to  the  march 
of  Ainferican  jurisdiction  westward  was  unavailing.  This  was 
a  bitter  pill  (as  may  well  be  imagined)  for  the  loyalists  in  that 
quarter  to  swallow.  The  oaths  of  McKee  were  long  and  loud. 
Simon  Girty  drowned  his  deep-mouthed  execrations  in  the 
"  flowing  bowl."  lie  continued,  however,  to  visit  Detroit,  de- 
claring he  would  make  that  post  a  place  of  resort,  to  defy  the 
power  of  the  United  States  until  their  soldiers  should  appear 
in  sight.     And  he  made  good  his  word. 

When  the  fort  at  Detroit  was  taken  possession  of,  it  was 
discovered  that  "  the  wells  had  been  filled  with  stones,  the 
windows  broken,  the  gates  locked,  and  the  keys  deposited 
with  an  aged  negro,  in  whose  possession  they  were  afterward 
found."  As  the  detachment  of  American  soldiers  neared  the 
town,  it  became  known  that  they  were  approaching.  There 
•were  no  British  officers  to  turn  over  the  post  to  the  Ameri- 
cans ;  but  in  the  town  was  Simon  Girty,  who  declared  he 
•would  not  stir  one  inch,  unless  driven  out.  However,  at  the 
sight  of  boats  coming  up  the  river  with  American  troops  on 
board,  he  became  so  much  alarmed  that  he  could  not  wait  for 
the  return  of  the  ferry-boat,  but  plunged  his  horse  into  the 
stream,  at  the  risk  of  drowning,  and  made  for  the  Canada 
shore,  which  he  reached  in  safety,  pouring  out  a  volley  of 
maledictions,  as"  he  rode  up  the  opposite  bank,  upon  the 
United  States  government  and  troops,  mingled  with  all  the 
diabolical  oaths  his  imagination  could  coin.*  The  truth  was, 
that  ever  since  his  desertion  from  Pittsburgh  in  the  spring  of 
1778,  he  had  upon  one  subject  seemed  to  be  ill  at  ease.     He 

*  Compare,  in  this  connection,  the  Wyandotte  (Kas.)  Gazette,  of  April 
18,  1872;  aUn,  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky, 
p.  201.  • 


Ilintory  of  the  Girtys.  301 

was  curious  to  know  of  prisoners  what  was  in  store  fur  him 
should  he  be  captured  by  the  Americans.  The  i<lca  of  his 
falling  into  their  hands  was  a  terror  to  him.  It  was  only 
that  he  had  nerved  himself  up  with  strong  drink  that  he 
remained  as  long  as  he  did  before  making  himself  secure 
on  British  soil.  He  often  boasted  in  after  years  of  his 
exploit  in  swimming  the  river,  and  of  the  power  of  the  horse 
that  carried  him  safely  over.*  Henceforth,  except  when  De- 
troit was  in  possession  of  the  British  in  the  War  of  1812,  the 
river  he  had  so  heroically  crossed  was  the  boundarv  between 
him  and  the  country  of  his  birth,  which  he  never  passed. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Girty  was  possessed  of  an  extraor- 
dinary amount  of  courage ;  nevertheless,  there  is  nothing  on 
record  to  imply  that  he  was  a  coward.  In  battle,  he  usually 
displayed  a  fair  amount  of  bravery.  As  to  his  foolhardiness, 
there  is  some  testimony,  if  the  following  story  is  to  be  cred- 
ited. He  got  into  a  quarrel  at  one  time  with  a  Shawanese, 
caused  by  some  misunderstanding  in  a  trade.  While  bandy- 
ing hard  words  to  each  other,  the  Indian,  by  inuendo,  ques- 
tioned hist  opponent's  courage.  Girty  instantly  produced  a 
half-keg  of  powder,  and  snatching  a  fire-brand,  called  upon 
the  savage  to  stand  by  him.  The  latter,  not  deeming  this  a 
legitimate  mode  of  settling  disputes,  hastily  evacuate<i  the 
premises.! 

Note  I. — The  Magazine  of  American  History  (Vol.  XV, 
p.  272),  says  :  "  [Simon]  Girty  was  now  getting  on  in  years, 
and  when  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  the  summer  of  1795^ 
closed  the  old  Indian  wars  of  the  West,  and  brought  his  hunt- 
ing grounds  and  his  adopted  kinsmen  under  the  authority  of 
the  people  he  had  fought  so  long  and  hated  so  cordially,  the 

*  Brice's  Historj'  of  Ft.  Wayno,  p.  186.  There  is  a  tradition,  seemingly 
well  authenticuted,  that  the  plunge  into  the  river  was  off  a  high  bank,  and 
WHS  really  a  daring  affair.     See  Farnner's  History  of  Detroit,  p.  269. 

t  Wyandotte  Gazette,  before  cited.  See,  also,  An  Historical  Account  of 
the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  p.  200.  The  story  is  also  copied  in 
the  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  271. 


802  Hinlory  of  the  Girtyit. 

bftttlc-scarred  warrior,  disappointed,  disgusted  and  furious, 
abandoned  forever  his  old  home  on  the  St.  Mary's  and  fol- 
loweil  the  retiring  British  to  Detroit.'*  In  this  extract  are  to  be 
noted  a  number  of  errors  :  (I)  Girty  had  no  liunting-grounds  in 
the  West,  nor  were  any  of  the  tribes  there  his  adopted  kins- 
men (unless,  indeed,  the  Mingoes  are  to  be  so  considered) ; 
(2)  he  did  not  abandon  iiis  old  home  on  the  St,  Mary's,  for  he 
never,  as  already  slio-.vn,  lived  there  ;  and  (3)  he  did  not  fol- 
low the  retiring  Bncis!  to  Detroit,  but  had  years  before  taken 
up  his  residence  in  Ciswau'* 

Note  II.  —  The  Mngnzine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV,  p.  278,  also  says :  "  Driven  at  last  from  American 
soil,  Girty  found  a  refuge  at  Fort  Maiden,  a  post  which  had 
been  established  by  the  British  on  the  east  side  of  Detroit 
river,  on  the  Canadian  frontier  just  before  the  evacuation  of 
Detroit  [in  179G],  and  distant  only  fifteen  miles  from  that 
stockaded  village  so  famous  in  the  annals  of  Indian  warfare. 
Fort  Maiden  commanded  the  entrance  to  Detroit  river  and 
from  its  walls  the  red-coated  sentinel  could  look  for  many  a 
mile  up  the  stream  which  separated  him  from  the  territory  of 
the  new  Republic,  and  turning,  view  the  beautiful  waters  of 
Lake  Erie  spreading  out  before  him  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  The  ground  once  occupied  by  this  defense  is  now  the 
property  of  Hon.  John  McLeod,  ex-member  of  the  Canadian 
Parliament.  A  platform  of  elevated  earth  cast  up  in  the 
long  ago  by  the  veterans  of  George  III.,  and  the  stump  of  the 
flag-staff  that  once  surmounted  it,  are  now  the  only  remains 
of  the  fort  from  whence  issued  the  invading  forces  which 
brought  death  and  disaster  to  the  American  soldiers  of  the 
War  of  1812.  The  very  name  '  Maiden '  has  almost  disap- 
peared from  the  maps,  and  its  successor,  'Amherstburg,'  now 
designates  the  picturesque  spot  in  the  county  of  Essex,  Up- 
per Canada,  where  once  the  royal  stronghold  stood."  But,  as 
has  before  been  shown,  Girty  was,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, re-called  by  DePeyster  from  "American  soil " — he  was  not. 
driven  from  it;  nor  did  he  find  a  refuge  at  Fort  Maiden  ;  but». 


}Ii»iory  of  the  Oirty».  303 

as  we  have  scon,  he  quietly  settled,  In  1784,  about  two  miles 
below  the  sjiot  whore  that  fort  was  subsequently  built. 

Note  III. — "The  Maiden  of  1706,"  is  the  further  language 
of  the  same  article — Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV,  p.  278 — (the  writer  of  which  article  supposes  it  was  in 
that  year  that  Simon  Girty  first  made  his  home  in  that  neigh- 
borhood), "  which  0'"'y  sought,  though  hut  an  outpost  of  the 
wilderness  frontier,  was  busy  enough  just  then,  surrounded  as 
it  was  by  hundreds  of  hungry  refugee  Indians,  from  the  war- 
desolated  North-west,  who  were  clamoring  for  aid  and  cjra- 
fort  from  their  British  jMiiployers.  Here,  .  .  .  safely 
ensconced  wore  Elliott  and  McKoo,  his  corrupters  of  Fort 
Pitt  and  his  boon  companions  for  twenty  years.  They  had 
found  it  convenient  to  bo  among  the  earliest  arrivals.  These 
educated  white  mercenaries  grow  rich  from  the  fruits  of  their 
treason,  while  the  illiterate  Girty,  Indian  like,  waxed  poorer 
and  poorer.  It  was  well  said  lately  to  the  writer  by  a  schol- 
arly correspondent  who  owns  original  papers  bearing  upon  the 
Girty  case,  that  '  Girty  was  terribly  punished  for  his  conduct, 
whilst  men  who  deserved  it  more  escaped  almost  unscathed.' " 

But  Girty  ha<l  little  or  nothing  when  he  was  married  and 
settled  near  what  was  afterward  Fort  Maiden.  He  was,  at 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  as  shown  in  a  previous  chapter, 
granted  half-pay  by  the  Crown,  and,  as  will  be  presently 
seen,  was  further  rewarded  by  the  government  in  a  grant  of 
land,  80  that  he  did  not  grow  poorer  and  poorer,  dating  either 
from  1784  or  1796 ;  nor  was  he  ever  terribly  punished  for  his 
conduct,  unless,  indeed,  from  remorse  arising  from  cruelties 
to  his  countrymen,  or  from  a  knowledge  of  the  execrations 
heaped  upon  him  by  the  Americans. 

Note  IV. — The  article  referred  to  in  Note  III,  also  says 
that  the  troops  of  Wayne,  as  they  approached  Detroit,  felt 
sure  "  that  now  at  last  the  daring  and  notorious  White  Indian 
[Simon  Girty]  would  fall  into  their  clutches."     This  is  error. 


«04  HiHlory  of  the  Girtyn. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

From  tlio  tiiking  possession  of  Detroit  by  the  Americana  in 
17S)l),  the  career  of  Simon  Girty  vas,  to  the  end  of  his  days, 
one  hirgely  appertaining  to  his  home  life.  Tliat  his  enforced 
and  somewhat  novel  farewell  to  the  American  side  of  the  De- 
troit river,  ended  his  intercourse,  to  n  very  great  extent,  with 
the  Ohio  Indians,  will  readily  be  imagined,  lie  continued, 
nevertheless,  to  act  as  interpreter,  when  occasion  required,  at 
conferences  between  Indians  in  Upper  Canada  and  the  British 
authorities.  A  resident  of  his  vicinity,  many  years  after, 
4i8serted,  that  "  he  used  to  go  to  Fort  Maiden  as  interpreter 
under  the  omploynicnt  of  tlie  government."  * 

The  region  of  Canada  where  Girty  had  his  home,  was 
formed  into  the  county  of  Essex  by  proclamation  of  the  16th 
of  July,  171*2.  It  was  made  to  include  all  the  territory 
b'>unded  on  the  east  by  the  county  of  Suffolk ;  on  the  south 
by  Lake  Erie ;  on  the  west  by  the  river  Detroit  to  Maison- 
eille's  mill ;  thence  by  a  line  running  ''parallel  to  that  river 
and  Lake  St.  Clair,  at  the  distance  of  four  miles,  until  it  met 
the  river  La  Tranche,  or  Thames ;  and  thence  up  that  stream 
to  the  north-west  boundery  of  the  county  of  Suffolk. f 

In  October,  1797,  Girty's  last  child  was  born.  It  was  a 
boy,  and  was  named  Prideaux,  after  Prideaux  Selby,  before 
mentioned,  a  friend  of  the  father.  The  child  grew  to  manhood, 
married,  and  settled  in  Essex  county.  He  raised  a  large  fam- 
ily. In  1830,  upon  the  death  of  King  William  IV,  a  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Canadian  Parliament  occurred,  and  a  new  election 
ensued.     The  candidates  for  seats  from  the  county  of  Es- 

*  See  the  statement  of  Mrs.  McCormick,  as  copied  into  the  Michigan  Pio- 
neer Collections,  Vol.  VII,  p.  120. 

f  Compare  Smyth's  Topographical  Description  of  Upper  Canada  (Lon- 
<lon,  1799),  pp,74,  75, 


Hhlory  of  the  Girty».  806 

• 

sex  were  John  Prince,  Francis  Caldwell,  Prideaux  Oirty,  and 
Dominique  LungloiH,  of  whom,  the  first  two  named  were 
Buccossful.  Mr.  Girty  was  u  resident  of  Colchester — a  man 
of  bomo  influence  in  his  own  locality,  where  he  afterward  fig- 
ure 1  in  municipal  affairs.  He  was  commissioned  a  major 
during  the  Canadian  rebellion,  and  in  that  capacity  served  un- 
der Colonel  Prince  throughout  the  continuance  of  the  ruflied 
state  of  affairs  in  that  region.  He  died  in  Ohio,  in  January, 
1853,  leaving  a  widow,  Catharine  Mackenzie  Girty. 

"At  the  close  of  the  war  of  17S3,"  says  a  Canadian  his- 
torian, "  it  was  determined  by  government  to  confer  grants 
of  land  to  the  refugee  loyalists  in  Canada,  on  the  same  scale 
to  officers  and  men  as  had  been  done  after  the  conquest  of 
Canada,  1703,  with  the  exception  that  all  loyalists  under  the 
rank  of  subaltern  were  to  receive  two  hundred  acres." 

"The  settlers  of  Upper  Canada,"  continues  the  same  writer, 
*'  up  to  1790,  may  be  divided  into  those  who  were  forced  away 
from  the  states  by  persecution  during  and  after  the  war ;  the 
disbanded  troops ;  and  a  nobler  class  who  left  the  states,  be- 
ing unwilling  to  live  under  other  than  British  rule."  *  To 
this  latter  class  belonged  McKee  and  Elliott,  and,  in  a  cer- 
tain  sense,  Simon  Girty  and  his  brother  James  and  George. f 

Simon  did  not,  however,  secure  his  land  just  below  Ara- 
herstburg,  upon  which  ho  had  lived  ever  since  his  marriage, 
until  the  6th  of  March,  1798,  when  the  Crown  granted  him  Lot 
No.  11,  Concession  1,  in  the  township  of  Maiden,  Essex  county, 
Canada,  described  as  "  beginning  at  a  post  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  Detroit,  marked  |^;   thence  east  131  chains;   thence 

• 

*  CanniiTi  Hislury  of  CanHda,  pp.  165,  18S. 

t  It  WH8  not,  as  bag  been  shown,  that  Simun  Oirty  was  unwilling  to  re- 
main a  Whig — a  patriot — under  the  new  order  of  things  inaugurated  by 
the  determined  spirits  of  the  Kttvolution,  that  induued  him  to  put  himself 
under  British  rule,  but  the  persuasions  of  McKee  and  Elliott;  and  James 
was  prevailed  upon  by  all  three  not  to  return  to  Pittsburgh  again — not, 
however,  because  he  was  particularly  averse  to  living  under  "rebel"  sway; 
while  George,  undoubtedly  deserted  for  the  reason  that  his  two  brothers  had 
gone  over  to  the  British. 
20 


806  History  of  the  Girtyg. 

south  li'  chains,  52  links;  thence  west  to  the  river  Detroit, 
and  thence  northerly  along  the  shore  of  the  river  against  the 
stream  to  the  place  of  beginning,  containing  164  acres."  ^• 

Simon  and  his  wife,  a  few  months  after  the  birth  of  their 
son,  Prideaux,  separated.  Drunkenness,  and  cruelty  caused 
by  it,  on  his  part  (he  would  often,  when  intoxicated,  strike 
Mrs.  Girty  on  her  head  with  the  flat  of  his  sword),  were  the 
reasons  for  the  separation — the  wife  leaving  her  home.  Fre- 
quently, at  this  period,  he  would  go  to  Maiden  and  gtt  drunk. 
In  1800,  he  broke  his  right  ankle.  He  suffered  much  from 
the  accident,  and  was  lame  the  rest  of  his  life.  Because  of 
this  mishap,  he  was,  to  a  great  extent,  incapacitated  from  la- 
boring on  his  farm,  even  had  he  been  inclined  so  to  do.  Then, 
his  previous. training,  his  habits  of  intoxication,  and  his  sight, 
which  was  now  beginning  to  be  impaired — all  militated  against 
outdoor  work  on  his  part.  Besides  his  half-pay,  his  support 
was  mostly  obtained  from  what  he  received  occasionally  from 
the  government  for  interpreting,  and  from  the  proceeds  of  his 
farm. 

"  Sometimes,"  says  a  published  account  (already  often  re- 
ferred to  in  these  pages)  in  mentioning  the  life  led  by  Girty 
during  these  years,  "  he  sought  e:i^citement  in  the  rum  he 
loved  so  much  and  which  was  dealt  out  so  freely  at  the  fort 
[Maiden],  and  then  he  was  an  Indian  indeed,  and  would  tear 
around  on  liorseback  flourishing  an  Indian  war  club,  singing 
Indian  war  songs,  and  filling  tht-  air  with  the  terrible  sounds 
of  the  scalp  halloo.  Sometimes  his  recreation  would  be  a 
long  hunt  with  a  party  of  savage  kindred,  and  again  it  would 
be  some  dangerous  expedition."!  But  liis  taking, an  occa- 
sional recreation  in  a  long  hunt  with  a  party  of  savage  kin- 
dred (if  any  such  kindred  there  had  been),  and  his  indulging 
in  some  dangerous  expedition  occasionally,  are  to  be  doubted  : 
his  age,  habits,  and  his  physical  condition  would  seem  to  pre- 
clude, on  his  part,  enjoyment  of  such  things.     As  to  savage 


•  Magazine  <il'  Western  History,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  321,  322. 
t-Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  274. 


History  of  (he  Qirtys.  307 


kindred,  he  had  none — neither  Idood  rehitives,  nor  relatives 
by  adoption — in  his  vicinity. 

There  are  a  number  of  traditions  afloat  concerning  a  visit 
said  to  have  been  made  by  Girty  in  1811  (or  just  before*  that 
time)  to  his  brother,  Thomss,  and  his  half-brother,  John 
Turner,  both  residing  near  Pittsburgh.  No  two  of  these  agree 
as  to  particulars.*  Besides,  it  is  now  known  that  he  had  not, 
at  any  time  after  1796,  and  before  the  war  of  1812  was  fully 
inaugurated,  been  in  the  Uuited  States — not  once  had  he 
crossed  the  Detroit  river.  He  was,  indeed,  too  much  disabled 
from  his  infirmities  to  have  undertaken  the  journey,  which 
would  have  been  at  that  day  one  of  hardships. 

Down  to  1811,  Girty's  three  eldest  children — Ann,  Sarah, 
and  Thomas — had  all  married  ;  Ann  to  Peter  Govereau,  Sarah   Ou»- 
to    Joseph    Munger,   and    Thomas    to    Miss    Moneka    Evans. 
Girty's  eye-sight,  which  had  been  for  some  time   impaired,  as 
already  mentioned,  was  now  seriously  failing  him. 

On  the  first  day  of  May,  1812,  Girty,  "  in  consideration  of 
natural  affection "'  and  the  sum  of  five  shillings,  made  a  deed 
to  his  son,  Thomas,  of  the  north  half  of  "  Lot  number  eleven 
in  the  first  Concession  of  the  Township  of  Maiden,  in  the 
County  of  Essex  and  Province  of  Upper  Canada,  containing 
by  measurement  eighty-two  acres,  be  the  same  more  or  less." 
Girty's  mark  is  made  in  signing  this  deed,  for,  it  will   be  re- 

*  For  one  of  these  tradition?,  see  MiiitHzine  of  American  History,  Vol. 
XV.  J).  274:  ''All  sort-*  of  wonderful  itnd  improbable  tales  are  told  of  this 
bold  appearance  of  Simon  in  the  very  niidsl  of  his  enemies.  One  of  the 
wildest  recounts  an  attack  that  was  made  upon  him  while  he  was  concealed 
at  Turner's  house,  und  the  statement  is  made  tliav,  he  then  received  a  saber- 
cut  in  the  head  which  ultimately  caused  his  death.  Unfortunately  for  this 
thrilling  tale,  the  saber-cut  dated  back  to  St.  Clair's  defeat.  He  was  con- 
vinced, however,  that  ho  was  still  cordially  detested,  and  especially  at  that 
time  when  the  hostile  movements  of  the  Wabash  Indians  caused  the  savage 
horrors  of  the  past  to  be  s>  vividly  recalle^l.  His  presence  was  detected 
and  vengeance  was  threjitened,  but  he  escaped,  and  returning  home  found 
all  Upper  Canada  in  excited  commotion  over  the  rapidly  approaching  war 
between  the  United  States  and  England  and  the  certain  invasion  of  the 
province."  But  the  saber-cut,  as  we  have  shown,  was  not  given  at  St  ''lair's 
defeat. 


308  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

membered,  he  could  not  %vrite ;  and  the  imlenture  did  not 
have  the  signature  of  Mrs.  Girty  appended,  as  she  and  her 
husband  still  lived  apart.  The  names  of  "A.  Masonvillo,  of 
Aniherstburg,  merchant,"  of  "  William  Elliott,  advocate,"  and 
William  Duft'  appear  in  the  instrument  as  witnesses.  But  the 
deed  was  not  actually  signed  b}'  Girty  at  the  date  of  its  being 
written — that  is,  on  the  day  just  mentioned. 

Stirring  scenes  were  now  at  hand  in  the  vicinity  of  Girty's 
home.  War  had  been  declared  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  and  Detroit,  in  August,  1812,  was  surrendered  to 
the  enemy.  *' At  the  capitulation  of  Detroit,"  says  Brice,  "  Mrs. 
Suttenfield  and  her  husband  being  there,  [they]  saw  Simon 
Girty.  .  .  .  When  he  had  last  visited  Detroit  some  years 
prior  [1796],  he  had  caused  his  horse  to  jump  off  a  consider- 
able embankment  into  the  river  and  then  swam  her  over  the 
same.  '  Here's  old  Simon  Girty  again  on  American  soil  I '  he 
exclaimed  as  he  approached  a  crowd  gathered  at  a  prominent 
point  in  the  place.  .  .  .  '  What  did  you  do  with  the  black 
marc  you  jumped  into  the  river  when  Wayne  was  after  you?  ' 
inquired  one  of  the  crowd.  '  (J,  she  is  dead,  and  I  burie<l  her 
with  the  honors  of  war,'  replied  Girty."  * 

It  had  been  sixteen  years  since  Girty  set  foot  upon  "Ameri- 
cal  soil ;  "  and  in  the  conflict  of  arms  now  carried  on,  he  took 
no  part.  "Old  Girty"  was  too  far  advanced  in  life — too 
feeble — for  military  service,  however  much  he  may  have  de- 
sired again  to  engage  in  deadly  strife  against  his  countrymen. 
He  was  only  with  the  British  army  as  a  looker-on  when  the 
red-coats  took  possession  of  Detroit;  and,  for  the  next  few 
months,  he  frequently  visited  the  town. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1813,  Girty  finally  signed  the  deed 
already  noticed  (which  had  been  written  over  a  year)  of  the 
north  half  of  his  farm.  It  was  registered,  on  the  ninth  day 
of  August  following,  in  the  registry  office  for  the  county  of 
Essex. 

When  the  news  of  Perry's  victory  reached  the  east  side  of 

the  Detroit  river.  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  were  at  Fort  Maiden 

- 

*  History  of  Fort  Wayne,  p.  135,  note. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  309 


with  a  motley  army  of  British  and  Indians,  two  thousand 
strong,  waiting  to  lay  waste  the  frontier  of  the  United  States. 
It  may  be  presumed  that  Proctor's  hopes  had  not,  of  late, 
been  of  a  very  sanguine  character,  for  his  repulse  at  Fort 
Meigs  and  defeat  at  Fort  Stephenson  were  not  calculated  to 
strengthen,  in  any  marked  degree,  his  expectations  of  success. 
Girty  was  advised  by  his  old-time  friend,  Elliott,  to  leave  his 
home  and  retire  out  of  harm's  way,  well  knowing  that  he 
would  be  in  danger — in  imminent  peril,  in  fact — should  he  re- 
main upon  his  farm,  as  it  was  now  a  certainty  that  Canada 
would  at  once  be  invaded  by  General  Harrison.  Girty  gave 
heed  to  the  warning  and  immediately  made  preparations  for  his 
journey,  intending  to  go  to  the  Mohawk  Indian  country  upon 
Grand  river.  It  is  related  by  one  who  saw  him  soon  after  his 
departure,  but  before  reaching  Sandwich,  that  he  said  despond- 
ingly  he  was  nearly  blind  and  somewhat  old,  and  thought  it 
doubtful  if  he  should  ever  return  to  his  home.* 

After  his  victory  of  September  10,  1813,  Commodore  Perry 
converted  a  part  of  his  captured  vessels  into  transports,  and 
taking  Harrison's  troops  on  board,  conveyed  them  to  Canada — 
to  the  east  side  of  the  Detroit  river.  Proctor  having  antici- 
pated this  movement,  dismantled  Fort  Maiden,  burned  the 
barracks,  and,  after  securing  all  the  horses  and  cattle  in  the 
neighborhood,  commenced  a  retreat.f 

The  American  army  landed  just  below  Amherstburg.  The 
right  wing  was  composed  of  Kentucky  volunteers  under 
command  of  Governor  Shelby.  The  latter  issued  an  order 
to  his  men  to  the  effect  that  while  the  army  remained 
in  the  country  of  the  enemy,  he  should  expect  the  inhab- 
itants to  be  well  treated — "  with  justice  and  humanity  "' — 
and  their  property  be  secure  from  unnecessary  and  wanton  in- 
jury. Upon  the  .approach  of  the  Americans,  most  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  whole  region  around  hastily  abandoned  their  houses, 

•  Note  from  William  Walker  to  the  writer. 

t  Girty  did  not  follow  but  preceded  Proctor.  The  statement  to  the  cnn- 
trary  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  amiinst  SanduRlfy,  ]i.  198, 
ig  error.     It  is  copied  into  Mugazine  of  AmericHn  Hittory,  Vol.  XV,  p.  276. 


810  History  of  the  Oirtya. 

having  hid  their  property  as  best  they  could.  But  Mrs.  Girty 
remained  at  the  home  of  her  daughter — Mrs.  Ann  Govereau — 
in  Amherstburg,  where  she  had  jbeen  living  for  considerable 
time.  There  was  much  fear  and  trepedation  in  the  place  as 
the  soldiers  approached,  and  a  numbei  -^^  the  women  came  out 
to  implore  the  protection  of  the  commander.  They  were,  of 
course,  quickly  assured  that  no  harm  would  be  done  them  or 
their  property. 

Just  here  it  may  be  proper  to  state,  for  reasons  that  will  be 
presently  seen,  that  Simon  Kenton,  the  same  whose  life  had 
been  saved  by  Girty,  was  with  the  army.  He  had  volunteered 
with  the  Kentucky  troops  as  a  private  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  serve  his  country.  He  was  a  privileged  member  of 
Governor  Shelby's  military  family.  As  he  passed  with  the 
rest  of  the  Kentucky  troops,  on  the  27th  of  September,  the 
house  of  his  old  companion  in  arms  in  Dunmore's  War,  he 
was  totally  ignorant  as  to  who  was  its  owner ;  nor  had  he  the 
slightes't  suspicion  that  in  Amherstburg  was  the  wife  and 
daughter  of  Simon  Girty. 

Some  time  after  Harrisen  landed  in  Canada,  Commodore 
Perry  had  occasion  to  send  one  hundred  Kentucky  soldiers  to 
Detroit.  They  went  on  shore  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  river, 
below  Maiden,  and  proceeded  thence  to  their  point  of  destina- 
tion ;  but,  before  reaching  there,  the  men  destroyed  the  house 
and  furniture  of  Elliott  (then  known  in  all  that  region  as 
"  Colonel  Elliott  "),  also  ruining  his  fences,  barn,  and  store- 
houses. 

In  thus  destroying  the  property  of  Colonel  Elliott,  the  Ken- 
tuckians  were  prompted  by  right  motives,  but  acted  upon  er- 
roneous information.  Elliott  (and  this  must  be  said  to  his 
especial  credit)  had  n^  hand  in  the  massacre  at  the  River 
Raisin  in  urging  on  Indians,  or  in  any  way  inciting  them  to 
murder  prisoners,  as  the  American  soldiers  who  destroyed  his 
property  believed ;  ^'  on  the  contrary,  he  was  kind   to   those 

*  Colonel  Elliott's  son  William,  then  a  captain  in  tbe  Kritish  army,  was 
at  the  river  Raisin;  and,  because  of  the  course  pursued  by  him,  there  are 
lomo  grounds  for  the  belief  that  he  winked  at  the  terrible  slaughter.     "  I 


History  of  the  Girtys.  311 

who  afterward  were  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  Maklen,  seven  of 
whom  he  ransomed.  Neither  can  it  be  charged  against  Girty 
that  lie  aided  or  abetted  the  bloody  work,  as  was,  immediately 
afterward,  reported,  lie  was  not  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  at  this  period,  and  could  not  have  taken  part  either  by 
counseling  or  otherwise  in  the  butchery  of  the  unfortunate 
troops.  Doubtless  had  his  property  been  pointed  out  to  the 
Kentucky  detachment,  it  would  likewise  have  been  ruined. 
There  is  a  current  (but  erroneous)  tradition  that  his  house 
was  about  to  be  burned  when  Simon  Kenton  stept  forward 
jind  declared  it  should  not  be  done;  that  Girty  was  his  friend, 
who  had  once  done  him  a  great  kindness ;  and  that,  there- 
upon, the  soldiers  desisted.  But,  as  we  have  shown,  Kenton 
vas,  at  this  time,  with  Harrison,  and  could  not,  therefore,  have 
interposed  to  save  the  property  of  "his  friend." 

Note  I. — "  Girty,"  it  has  been  published,  "  was  an  old  man 
when  the  war  [of  1812]  commenced,  but  not  too  old  to  en- 
courage a  band  of  Wyandots  to  rally  around  Tecumseh  and 
the  British  standard.  After  the  lapse  of  many  years  the 
aged  victor  of  the  Blue  Licks,  and  the  remnant  of  his  broken 
people,  were  again  united  against  their  ancient  and  inveterate 
North  western  foes.  But  the  lieal'th  of  Girty  was  shattered, 
and  he  was  so  nearly  blind  that  he  could  lead  no  more  his 
dusky  hosts  to  battle,  but  he  dimly  saw  the  flash  of  the  guns 
which  announced  the  shameful  surrender  of  Hull ;  stood  once 
again  within  the  stockaded  walls  of  Detroit,  to  which  he  had 
been  so  long  a  stranger,  and  heard  the  exultant  shouts  of  his 
lessening  tribe  as  it  returned  from  the  bloody  massacre  of 
Raisin,  a  deed  which  inspired  every  Kentucky  soldier  with  the 
feelings  of  an  avenger,  revived  bitter  memories  of  the  Indian 

frequentl}',  and  on  every  ocfasion,"  sjiid  .John  Todd,  surgeon  of  the  Fifth 
Kentucky  Kegiment,  "urged  the  British  officers  to  exert  themselves  and 
procure  the  release  of  the  wounded  from  the  Indians — urging  the  necessity 
of  having  their  wounds  dressed.  In  a  conversation  on  this  subject  with 
Captain  Elliott,  and  while  urging  it,  he  replied,  '  the  Indians  are  excellent 
«urgeon8.' " 


812  HUlory  of  the  Girtys,  > 

tragedies  of  the  past,  and  with  them  the  name  of  Girty,  which 
was  mentioned  again  with  threats  and  curses." — Magazine  of 
American  History,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  274, 275.  (1)  If  Simon  Girty 
encouraged  any  Wyandots  to  rally  around  the  British  standard, 
it  must  have  been  those  whose  homes  were  near  Detroit,  for 
the  Ohio  Wyandots  remained  friendly  to  the  United  States 
during  the  war.  Now,  of  course,  the  Indians  I  have  first 
mentioned  were  not  "  the  remnant  of  his  broken  people." 
That  Girty  gave  encouragement,  therefore,  to  a  band  of  Wy- 
andots more  than  to  other  Indians  there  could  be  no  good  rea- 
son for,  unless  he  saw  no  others  to  encourage.  (2)  Girty's 
name  was  mentioned  with  threats  and  curses  not  simply  be- 
cause there  was  a  bloody  massacre  at  the  River  Raisin,  but 
for  the  reason  that  he  was  supposed  to  have  taken  part  in  it. 

Note  II. — The  following  story  is  related  in  the  Magazine 
(Vol.  XV,  pp.  271,  272,  276),  quoted  in  the  previous  note : 

"An  incident  which  is  thought  to  have  occurred  shortly  after 
St.  Clair's  defeat,  and  which  is  given  on  British  authority,  in- 
dicates that  Girty  shared  the  feelings  of  his  tribe  [the  San- 
dusky Wyandots]  agiiinst  the  horrible  practice  of  burning 
prisoners.  Several  captives  who  had  been  taken  during  the 
recent  battle  bv  some  of  the  Indian  allies,  were  condemned  to 
the  stake,  and,  in  spite  of  every  influence  that  Girty  could 
bring  to  bear,  the  fatal  fires  were  kindled  to  the  delight  of  the 
assembled  multitude  of  drunken  braves,  screeching  squaws, 
and  capering  children  of  all  ages.  Among  the  prisoners  was 
an  American  officer,  in  whose  behalf  Girty  especially  exerted 
himself,  but  without  effect.  Finally,  when  his  doom  seemed 
inevitable,  Girty,  who  was  always  fertile  in  expedients,  seized 
a  favorable  moment  when  unobserved  and  dropped  him  a  sig- 
nificant hint.  The  officer,  very  fortunately,  instantly  compre- 
hended it,  and,  as  he  was  being  taken  to  the  stake,  he  sud- 
denly snatched  a  papoose  from  the  arms  of  a  squaw  an  threw 
it  toward  the  flames  where  another  prisoner  was  burning.  The 
wildest  excitement  instantly  en.sued ;  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren fell  over  each  other  in   the  simultaneous  rush  that  was 


History  of  the  Girtys.  313 


made  to  save  the  baby.  The  child  wag  rescued,  but,  in  the 
midst  of  the  frantic  and  indescribable  confusion,  the  officer 
made  good  his  escape.  To  his  credit,  be  it  said,  that  he  never 
forgot  his  deliverer,  and  .  .  .  did  his  best  to  prove  his 
gratitude  in  1812,  when  the  fortunes  of  war  brought  trouble 
to  Girty.     .     .     . 

"The  tide  of  war  turned  [that  is,  the  War  of  1812],  the 
British  fleet  was  destroyed.  Maiden  was  captured,  and  Girty 
became  a  fugitive.  But  one  at  least  of  the  soldiers  who  pur- 
sued the  retreating  forces  of  Proctor  wished  the  White  Indian 
[Simon  Girty]  no  evil.  It  was  the  American  officer  whose 
life  he  had  saved  by  suggesting  the  desperate  expedient  of 
casting  the  Indian  papoose  toward  the  flames.  A  British  au- 
thority asserts  that,  though  this  officer  had  retired  from  the 
American  army,  he  rejoined  it  in  1813,  with  the  express  pur- 
pose of  doing  his  best  to  protect  Girty  in  the  event  of  his  cap- 
ture. It  was  an  exhibition  of  that  rarest  of  noble  qualities, 
gratitude,  which  makes  one  think  better  of  his  race.  But  the 
ill-starred  Girty,  from  whom  happiness  always  stood  afar  off", 
was  denied  the  pleasure  of  ever  knowing  that  he  had  a  single 
friend  among  the  advancing  Americans.    They  never  met." 

The  allusion  to  a  retired  American  officer  being  with  the 
army  in  pursuit  of  Proctor  for  the  express  purpose  of  doing 
his  best  to  protect  Girty,  and  that  that  officer  was  one  who 
had  been  saved  by  a  hint  from  him,  makes  it  certain  that  the 
story  is  but  a  revamping  of  the  account  of  Kenton's  life  hav- 
ing been  spared  at  his  solicitation  (as  before  related)  when 
Kenton  was  a  prisoner. 

Note  III. — "  Simon  Girty  was  not  only  not  killed  at  the 
battle  of  the  Thames,  but  he  was  prevented  by  blindness  and 
rheumatism  from  taking  any  part  whatever  in  the  engage- 
ment. .  .  .  The  collapse  of  the  British  at  the  Thames 
found  Simon  Girty  homeless  and  a  wanderer ;  but,  moved  by 
the  same  instinct  of  savage  brotherhood  which  ever  character- 
ized him,  he  sought  and  found  a  refuge  at  a  village  of  the  Mo- 
hawks on  Grand  river.     This  village,  which  was  located  in  the 


814  Hidory  of  the  Qirtyt. 

midst  of  some  of  the  finest  land  in  the  Dominion,  and  on 
probably  the  most  picturesque  of  Canadian  streams,  was  set- 
tled at  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Girty's  Indian  friend  and  comrade,  the  distinguished 
Brandt.  It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  Campbell,  the  cele- 
brated poet,  should  have  made  a  mistake  about  Brandt  so 
similar  to  the  one  made  by  another  and  more  obscure  Camp- 
bell [John  W.]  about  Girty.  In  Gertrude  of  Wyoming,  '  the 
monster  Brandt '  is  mentioned  as  a  participant  in  that  cold- 
blooded massacre,  of  which  Thomas  Campbell  so  touchingly 
sung,  though  the  fact  is  established  that  he  was  not  present 
on  that  tragic  occasion." — Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,  pp.  275,  376.  (1)  This  was  written,  it  is  evident, 
with  the  erroneous  Understanding  that  Qiiriy  followed  the  re- 
treating British  army.  (2)  It  was  not  the  instinct  of  savage 
brotherhood  which  determined  him  to  choose  a  village  of  the 
Mohawks  on  Grand  river  as  a  temporary  place  of  refuge,  but 
because  it  was  the  nearest  place  of  safety.  (3)  I  have  not 
been  able  to  discover  that  Girty  was  a  comrade  of  Brant, 
•either  in  the  Revolution  or  subsequent  thereto. 


UUtory  of  the  Girtyn.  315 


CHArTKll   XXXII. 

Simon  Girty's  son  Tlionias  dictl  from  being  overlieatcl  in 
carrying  a  wounded  British  officer  from  a  field  of  buttle,* 
but  what  battle  is  unknown  ;  that  he  had  fought  gallantly  during 
the  war  is  generally  conceded.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he 
had  three  children.  These  and  their  father  were  buried  on 
the  Girty  farm  below  Maiden,  where  the  family  was  living.f 
And  now  that  we  have  Simon  safely  domiciled  in  one  of  the 
Mohawk  Indian  villages,  secure  from  the  vengeance  of  Amer- 
ican soldiers,  let  us  turn  our  attention  for  the  last  time  to  his 
brothers,  James  and  George. 

George  married  among  the  Delawares,  and  had  several 
children.  During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  he  was  an 
habitual  drunkard.  He  died  at  a  trading  post  on  the  Mau- 
mee,  belonging  to  his  brother  James,  about  two  miles  below 
Fort  Wayne,  near  a  bend  of  the  river,  just  before  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain.  He  was  drunk  at  the  time.  His  family 
remained  with  the  Delawares.  Of  his  personal  appearance 
there  is  no  account  extant.  He  was,  as  we  have  before  ex- 
plained, more  of  an  Indian  in  habits  and  proclivities  than 
James.  For  a  number  of  years  after  his  death,  his  surviving 
savage  associates,  many  of  them,  delighted  to  talk  of  his 
bravery  in  battle — especially  in  the  conflict  on  the  plains  of 
Sandusky,  where  the  Indians  and  Rangers  encountered  the 
Americans  under  Colonel  Crawford,  as  previously  related, 
and  in  the  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks. 

James,  who  left  the  Maumee  for  Canada  upon  the  approach 
of  General  Wayne's  arniy,  in  1794,  remained  there  until  after 
the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795.     He  then  returned,  and 

*  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  276;  Michigan  Pioneer 
Collections,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  126,  127. 

t  Statements  of  Mrs.  McCormick,  of  Pel£e  Island,  and  of  James  Mickle, 
of  Maiden, — Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  loc.  cit. 


816  History  of  the  Girtys. 

again  engaged  in  trading  with  the  Indians  on  that  river,  leav- 
ing his  family,  however,  in  Canada — in  Gosfield,  Essex  county.* 
On  the  17th  of  May,  1802,  he  was  granted  "Lot  No.  8,  in 
Front  [First]  Concession,  Western  Division,"  of  that  town- 
ship, amounting  to  two  hundred  acres,  described  as  "lying 
between  Cedar  creek  and  Mill  creek."  Meanwhile,  his  wife, 
"  Betsey,  an  Indian  woman,"  of  the  Shawanese  nation,  had 
died.  In  1804,  when  at  his  home  in  Gosfield,  he  made  hi» 
will. 

To  his  son  James  and  his  daughter  Ann,  who  were  then 
living  with  him,  he  gave  the  land,  a  description  of  which  has 
just  been  given,  directing  how  it  should  be  divided  between 
them.  He  also  bequeathed  to  his  son  six  negro  slaves,  ni.m- 
ing  them ;  and  to  his  daughter,  a  negro  wench  "  called  Sal," 
likewise  a  negro  woman  named  Nancy  and  her  five  children. 
As  to  all  the  remaining  part  of  his  personal  estate,  including 
household  furniture,  cattle,  horses,  swine,  poultry,  money, 
grain,  and  all  other  descriptions  of  personal  property,  and 
also  all  the  cattle  and  other  stock  which  was  the  property  of 
his  "  deceased  wife  Betsey,  an  Indian  woman,"  and  the  mother 
of  his  children — he  directed  that  the  whole  be  equally  divided 
between  his  son  and  daughter,  except  the  utensils  of  hus- 
bandry, which  he  gave  to  his  son,  and  a  negro  named  Paul, 
•who  was  to  have  his  freedom  "  for  his  long  and  faithful 
services."  f 

On  the  7th  of  July,  1807,  James  was  granted  an  additional 
tract  of  land — "  Lots  23  and  24,  in  the  6th  ',Conces8ion,  East- 
ern Division,"  in  the  same  township  in  which  was  located  the 


•  "  Leaving  Lani^imrd,  you  arrive  at  Point  Peliie,  or  the  South  Foreland, 
which  malcea  a  great  projection  into  the  lake  [Erie];  and  having  doubled 
that  point,  you  enter  the  settlements  made  by  the  loyalists,  in  the  townships 
of  Mersea,  Gosfield,  and  Colchester."— Smyth's  Topo'^raphical-  Description 
of  Upper  Canada  (1799),  p.  36. 

t  The  witnesses  to  the  will  were  T.  McKee,  T.  Alox.  Clarke,  and  Geo. 
Ironside.  The  executors  named  were  Leonard  Scratch  and  James  Stewart. 
Girty  declares  in  the  will  that  the  slave  Nancy  was  the  property  of  the 
mother  of  his  children,  and  intended  by  her  for  Ler  daughter  Ann,  The 
land  bequeathed  is  bounded  by  Lake  Erie  on  the  south. 


Hittory  of  the  Oirtys.  817 


first  grunt,  This  donation  consisted  of  four  hundred  acrea. 
To  this  date,  and  for  some  yours  subsecjuont  thereto,  ho  con- 
tinued iiis  trufKc  with  the  Indians  upon  the  Maunice,  but  hia 
family,  numbering  still  but  his  two  children,  remained  in  Gos- 
field.  "Mrs.  Suttenfield  informed  the  writer,"  says  the  his- 
torian of  Kort  Wayne,  Indiana,  "  that  she  learned  some  time 
subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  herself  and  husband  at  the  fort 
here  [Fort  Wayne],  in  1814,  that  Simon  and  James  Girty 
had  lived  for  some  time  prior  to  the  [commencement]  of  the 
War  of  1812,  near  the  bend  of  the  Maumce,  about  two  miles 
below  Fort  Wayne."  *  It  was,  however,  George  instead  of 
Simon  who  was  with  James.  That  it  was  not  Simon  is  made 
clear  from  what  Mrs.  Suttenfield  herself  afterward  relates  ;  for 
she  avers,  as  we  have  seen,  that  Simon's  last  visit  to  Detroit 
before  Hull's  surrender  was  when  he  swam  the  Detroit  river 
to  escape  General  Wayne's  soldiers  (in  17!)G).t  Now,  to  have 
traded  with  the  Indians  upon  the  Mauraee  without  having  once 
visited  Detroit  for  the  purchase  of  supplies,  or  in  going  to  and 
from  his  home  in  Canada,  is  of  course  what  he  would  not  have 
done. 

James  gave  up  his  business  upon  the  Maumee  and  retired 
permanently  to  hia  Gosfield  home  in  Canada  before  the  be- 
ginning of  the  War  of  1812,  for  the  reason  that  he  did  not 
find  it  so  profitable  as  previous  to  the  Indian  War  of  1790-95, 
as  the  Indian  trade  had  been  largely  transferred  to  the  Wa- 
bash and  its  tributaries. 

The  last  place  where  James  had  a  trading-house  on  the 
Maumee  was  at  what  is  known  as  "  Girty's  Point,"  five  miles 
above  the  present  Napoleon,  Ohio,  near  which  is  "  Girty's 
Island,"  in  the  Maumee ;  both  of  which  received  their  names 
from  the  circumstance  of  hia  having  been  there  engaged  in 
traffic  with  the  Indiana.  After  a  time  Simon  waa  confounded 
with  James  as  haviug  been  the  trader  there ;  and  some  writers 
have  gone  so  far  aa  to  fix  the  exact  spot  where  he  dealt  out 
paints,  trink  ts,  blankets,  and  "  fire-water  "  to  the  savagea : 

*  Brice's  History  of  Fort  Wayne,  p.  135,  note. 
f  Ante,  p.  300. 


818  Mil  lory  of  the  Girlyg. 

"The  notofioufl  Simon  Girtyonco  resided  five  inilcH  above  Nn,- 
poleon,  lit  a  place  called  '  (Jirty's  Point.'  His  cabin  was  on  the 
bank  of  the  Mauniee,  a  few  yards  west  of  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Elijah  Gunn.  xVU  traces  of  his  habitation  have  been  obliter- 
ated by  culture,  and  a  fine  farm  now  [1846]  surrounds  the 
spot."*  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  location  mentioned  was 
really  the  site  of  James's  trading-house. 

Durinir  tlie  VVar  of  ISIJ-IT),  .James  was  too  old  and  infirm 
to  take  part,  notwithstanding  it  has  been  repeatedly  as- 
serted that  he  was  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  He 
died  on  the  15th  of  April,  1817.  During  his  last  years 
he  suffered  much  from  rheumatism.  He  had  always  been 
thrifty,  and  bail  turned  his  intercourse  with  the  Shawa- 
nese  and  other  Indian  tribes  to  good  account,  as  he  had  accu- 
muliited  at  his  death  considerable  property,  largely  the  result 
of  his  labors  as  trader  with  them,  although  the  grants  of  land 
which  he  obtained  and  the  procei-ds  of  his  farming  operations 
tended  materially  to  increase  his  store;  all  of  which,  as  he 
made  no  other  will  than  the  one  already  descL'ibed,  descended 
to  his  two  children,  both  of  whom  survived  him. 

Througii  .life  James,  unlike  Simon  and  George,  was  tem- 
perate in  his  habits.  He  was^  tall  in  stature,  and  lithe 
in  limb.  His  general  character  has  been  generally 
painted  by  those  who  have  written  of  him  as  bad ;  and 
his  course  during  the  Revolution  exhibits  him  as  a  raan  of 
sanguinary  spirit  when  impelled  by  hatred  or  roused  by  anger. 
In  his  predatory  incursions  into  Kentucky  with  small  war- 
parties  (for  that  country  was  his  field  of  operations),  he  was, 
from  all  accounts  both  published  and  traditionary,  as  indis- 
criminate in  his  cold-blooded  murders  as  the  most  forocious 
savage — as  the  most  blood-thirsty  or  the  warriors  with  whom 
he  was  associated.  Neither  age  nor  sex  was  spared  at  his 
hiinds.  He  would  often  boast,  it  is  said,  Avhile  in  the  wilder- 
ni  ss,  that  no  woman  or  child  escaped  his  tomahawk,  if  he  got 


*  Hijwe'g  Ohio,  p.  246.  Compiiro  Knapp's  Maumee  Valley,  |p.  679.  In 
'An  Historical  Auoount  of  the  Expedition  ugainBt  Sandusky  (p.  '.^01,  note),' 
it  is  incorrectly  stated  that  "Giriy's  island"  was  named  after  Siuion  Girty. 


llnlory  of  the  Qirtyn.  319 

ivithin  reach  of  the  victim.  Traders  who  wore  acquainted 
with  him  rehited  that  he  never  turned  on  hiu  heel  to  save  a 
wretched  priHoner  frunt  torture  at  the  stake ;  and,  though  tak- 
ing no  active*  part  himself,  woukl,  nevertheless,  instruct  the 
Indians  in  new  and  more  terrible  methods  of  torture !  * 

NoTK  I. — It  is  incorrectly  stated  in  the  Magazine  of  Amer- 
ican History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  *27o,  that  Jumcs,  when  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  Canada,' settled  on  Middle  Sister  Island :  "  lie 
settled  with  his  Shawnee  squaw,  his  dogs  and  his  wild  young 
children,  on  Middle  Sister  Island  not  far  from  his  brother 
[Simon]."  So,  also,  in  the  Michigan  IMoneer  Collections, 
VoL  VII,  p.  127,  we  have  this  account:  "He  [Mr.  James 
Mickle,  of  Maiden]  remembers  Simon's  brother,  Janic::  Girty, 
who  lived  on  Middle  Sister  Island,  and  raised  tobacco  r.nd 
■water-melons.     lie  was  then  living  alone." 

Note  II. — As  to  the  death  of  James,  the  writer  who  reports 
Mr.  Mickles  recollection  (mentioned  in  the  previous  note) 
says  that,  according  to  the  hitter's  statements,  he  (James) 
"  was  either  drowned  or  was  found  dead  in  the  bush.''  And 
this  is  made  still  more  erroneous  in  the  magazine  article ; 
"  Shunned  by  white  people,  and  deserted  even  by  his  Indian 
squaw,  the  miserable  creature  [James]  lingered  on  through 
months  of  pain  and  at  last  was  found  dead  on  the  beach  of 
Middle  Sister  Island."  (See  Magazine  of  American  History, 
Vol.  XV,p.  276.) 

*  Missouri  Uazelte,  M»y  7,  1814  (copied  in  Niles's  Weekly  Register, 
Supplement  to  Vol.  IX,  p.  181.)  The  article  is  before  referred  to  in  this 
narrative.  I  am  inclined  to  think  James  has  usually  been  painted  worse 
than  he  really  was,  from  a  desire  to  heap  the  Girty  odium  on  his  shoulders, 
to  ease  the  load  from  his  brother  Simon's.     But  uf  this  hereafter. 


820  History  of  the  Oirlys. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII.      * 

The  coming  back  to  his  home,  just  below  Maiden,  in  1816, 
from  his  three  years  residence  among  the  Mohawks  and 
at  Burlington  Heights,  of  Simon  Girty,  was,  to  him,  far  from 
being  a  pleasant  return,  for  he  was  totally  blind.*  While  ab- 
sent, he  had  not  been  entirely  idle,  having,  on  several  occa- 
sions, been  employed  as  interpreter  by  the  government.  He 
now  spent  much  of  his  time  at  the  home  of  his  dauf'  ter, 
Ann,  in  Amherstburg,  whose  husband,  Peter  Govereau,  kept 
there  a  house  of  entertainment.  "  In  1813  [1816],"  says 
Daniel  Workman,  "  I  went  to  Maiden  and  put  up  at  a  hotel 
kept  by  a  Frenchman  [Peter  Govereau].  I  noticed  in  the 
bar-room  a  grey-headed  and  blind  old  man.  The  landlady, 
■who  was  his  daughter  [Ann],  a  woman  of  about  thirty  years 
of  age,  inquired  of  me,  '  Do  you  know  who  that  is  ? '  pointing 
to  the  old  man.  On  my  replying,  '  No,'  she  rejoined,  '  It  is 
Simon  Girty.'     He  had  then  been  blind  about  four  years."  f 

It  was  reported,  immediately  after  the  battle  of  the  Thames, 

*  The  Maunzifie  of  American  History,  Vo'.  XV,  p.  276,  says  with 
truth:  "Girty  shared  the  whisky  and  venison  of  his  Indian  friends  until 
the  close  of  the  war  in  1816,  when  he  .returned  to  his  solitaiy  farm  near 
Maiden.  It  was  solitary  indeed.  His  two  daughters  were  married,  and  in 
homes  of  their  own  ;  the  son  of  his  heart  hud  died  during  the  war."  The 
son  here  referred  to  was  Thomas.  That  author  then  adds:  "And  his 
[Girty's]  wife,  worn  out  by  his  wild  and  irregular  life  and  Indian-like  ways, 
had  left  him  long  ago.  Only  one  of  his  family,,  his  son  Prideaux,  lingered 
about  him."  But  it  was  Girtj''8  drinking,  and  that  only,  which  caused  his 
wife  to  leave  him,  as  before  explained.  His  Indian-like  ways  no  one  would 
be  more  likely  to  overlook  than  Mrs.  Girty,  who  was  longer  a  captive  to  the 
savages  than  was  her  husband. 

t  Howe's  Ohio,  p.  248.  It  is  certain  that  Mr.  Workman  is  mistaken  as  to 
the  year  of  his  visit.  The  age  of  Mrs.  Govereau,  and  the  circumstance  of 
Girty  being  totally  blind,  show  it  to  have  been  not  pearlier  than  1816.  Be- 
sides, Mr.  "Workman  would  scarcely  have  ventured  in  Maiden  in  1813 — the 
most  dangerous  period  for  an  American  to  have  gone  there  during  the  war. 
Ho  is  also  in  error  as  to  the  length  of  time  Girty  had  been  blind. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  821 

among  the  American  troops,  that  Simon  was  among  the  killed, 
and  the  next  year  it  was  so  stated  in  print :  "  For  the  last  ten 
years,"  so  runs  the  account,  "  he  had  been  crippled  with 
rheumatism,  yet  he  rode  to  his  hunting-grounds  in  pursuit  of 
game,  and  would  boast  that  he  preserved  a  war-like  spirit  in 
the  midst  of  bodily  pain,  and  would  often  exclaim,  '  May  I 
breathe  my  last  on  a  field  of  battle  ! '  In  this  wish  Simon  has 
been  gratified ;  for  in  the  battle  of  the  Moravian  towns,  on 
the  river  Thames,  he  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Colonel  Johnson's 
mounted  men."*  But  all  this  (including  his  riding  "to  his 
hunting-grounds  in  pursuit  of  game  ")  is  pure  fiction. 

From  the  time  of  Girty  reaching  home,  until  late  in  the 
summer  of  1817,  was  a  period  to  him  not  only  of  darkness 
to  all  surrounding  objects  (deprived,  as  he  was,  totally  of 
sight),  but  of  mental  gloom.  He  would  manage  to  obtain  oc- 
casionally a  flask  of  whisky  at  Maiden,  though  he  seldom 
drank  so  much  as  to  be  intoxicated.  Finally,  as  if  having  a 
premonition  that  he  would  live  only  a  few  months,  he  gave  up 
entirely  the  use  of  liquor.  He  was  taken  suddenly  ill  on  the 
;.fternoon  of  the  15th  of  February,  1818,  and  he  at  once  re- 
alized fully  that  he  was  at  the  threshold  of  eternity.  He 
seemed  very  penitent  as  his  end  drew  nigh.  He  listened 
with  the  utmost  attention  to  the  words  of  his  wife,  who  was 
again  living  with  him,  and  who  now  administered  to  his  wants 
as  though  he  had  ever  been  kind  to  her.f     She  explained  to 

•  Missouri  Qnzottu,  Miiy  7,  1814  (copied  in  Niies's  Weeldy  Register,  Sup- 
plement to  Vol.  IX,  p.  181,  luid  alrewdy  cited).  Compare  p.  330,  post; 
Perkins's  Western  Annuls,  pp.  170,  171,  note;  Claniptieli's  Biojjraphicttl 
SI<Ptehes,  p.  147;  Johti  Mason  Brown's  Oration,  pp.  3G,  50;  where  the  er- 
ror rts  to  Girty's  death  is  repeated.  Many  recent  writers  liave  also  helped 
to  perpetuate  the  mistake.  "  Over  thirty  years  later  he  [Kichard  Johnson] 
led  the  Kentucky  mounted  riflymen  at  the  victory  of  the  Thame.»,  when 
they  killed  not  only  the  great  Indian  chief  Tecumseh,  but  also,  it  is  said, 
the  implacable  renegade  riinion  'Jirty  himself,  then  in  extreme  old  age." — 
Eoosevelt,  in  "The  Winning  of  the  West,"  Vol.  II,  p.  197. 

■)■  That  Mrs.  Girty  was  a  very  kind-hearted  and  most  exemplary  woman 
there  can  be  no  doubt. 

21 


822  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

him  how  he  might  still  obtain  pardon  for  his  sins,  and  prayed 
earnestly  for  him  at  his  bedside. 

In  an  article  oft-quoted  from  in  these  pages,  it  is  said  that 
"  he  [Girty]  had  paid  no  attention  to  religion  as  understood 
by  white  men ;  and  if  he  died  in  any  faith  at  all  it  was  in  that 
of  the  Indian — a  simple  trust  in  the  power  and  goodness  of 
the  Great  Spirit."  *  It  is  true  he  had  paid  little  heed  here- 
tofore to  religion,  but  he  understood  far  more  of  the  Chris- 
tian's faith  than  the  untutored  savage ;  and,  just  as  he  had 
asked  forgiveness  of  all  those  near  him  for  any  wrongs  done 
them,  his  perturbed  spirit  fled  its  clay  tenement. 

It  was  on  the  18th  of  February,  1818,  that  Simon  Girty 
died.  "And  so  ended  the  unhappy  life  of  a  creature  who 
became,  by  force  of  warping  circumstances,  the  anoriially 
of  Western  History."  lie  was  buried  on  his  farm  two  days 
after  his  decease,  his  funeral  being  attended  by  a  detachment 
of  troops  from  Fort  Maiden.  British  soldiers  fired  a  parting 
salute  over  his  grave.  He  was  laid  to  rest  with  military 
honors  and  as  a  loyal  subject  of  Great  Britain — but  at  that 
very  moment  his  name  was  held  in  abhorrence  by  all  Ameri- 
cans who  had  heard  of  him  !  "  He  died  in  the  winter,"  says 
a  Canadian  writer,  "  and  it  was  said  that  his  body  could  not  be 
carried  through  the  gate  on  account  of  the  snow-banks,  and  had 
to  be  taken  over  the  fence.  .  .  .  The  place  [of  burial]  can  still 
be  pointed  out,  though  it  is  not  inclosed  or  marked  in  any 
way,  Avhile  a  farm-gate  swings  over  the  spot." 

Going  south  from  Amherstburg  some  two  miles,  the  traveler 
sees,  as  he  drives  along,  a  carriage  road,  the  Detroit  river  to 

*  Miigazine  of  Anieric«n  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  277.  In  "An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusdy"  (p.  198),  is  the  following, 
which  eonvpys  an  erroneous  impression:  ':  [Simon]  Girty  married  in  the 
neighborhood  [of  Maiden]  and  raised  a  family.  In  vain  he  tried  to  become 
a  decent  citizen,  and  command  some  degree  6f  respect.  The  depravity  of 
his  untamed  and  undisciplined  nuture  was  too  apparent.  Ho  was  abhorred 
by  all  his  neighbors."  The  same  in  effect  had  been  prieviously  published  of 
him,  and  has  since  been  repeated  in  several  works  in  the  West.  The  truth 
18,  he  was  on  friendly  terms  with  his  neighbors,  and,  when  not  intoxicated, 
was  far  from  being  shunned  by  them. 


History  of  the  Girtys,  823 

the  right  and  some  Vces  growing  between  liira  and  the  stream  ; 
to  the  left  is  the  farm  on  which  Girty  died.  The  house  in 
which  he  breathed  his  hist  breath  was  located  toward  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  tract,  while  his  final  resting-place 
is  to  the  north-east  of  the  spot  Avhere  his  log  dwelling 
stood.* 

"  The  subsequent  career,"  says  the  tnost  evrroncous,  prob- 
ably, of  all  the  accounts  ever  hitherto  published  of  Girty's 
death,  "of  this  notorious  man  is  uncertain.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  killed  by  Col.  Clayton,  in  Kentucky.  It  is  re- 
lated that  Girty  stole  Clayton's  wife  from  his  home  while  the 
latter  was  with  Forbes  and  Bouquet  in  the  expedition  against 
Fort  Duquesne,  in  1757  and  1758.  Clayton  returned  home 
after  the  war  to  find  that  his  wife  had  been  stolen  by  an  In- 
dian, which  he  devined  to  be  Girty,  whereupon  he  pursued  the 
renegade  with  a  savage  thirst  for  revenge,  and  finally  met  the 
dispoiler  of  his  household  on  '  the  dark  and  bloody  soil  of 
Kentucky,'  where,  in  a  desperate  contest,  Girty  was  slain  !  "  f 

Girty  was  about  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height.  His  hair, 
originally  black,  turned  gray  several  years  before  his  death. 
His  eyes  Avere  black  and  piercing ;  his  face  round  and  full. 
His  neck,  unlike  his  brother  James's,  was  short,  and  his  whole 
frame  heavy.  Ilis  intemperance,  and  the  scar  upon  his  fore- 
head, marred,  to  some  extent,  his  features.  It  can  not  be 
said,  however,  that  he  was  a  repulsive  looking  man.|  In  his 
prime,  he  was  very  agile. 

*  For  most  of  these  facts,  I  am  indebted  to  William  Chsii-les  Mickle,  son 
of  William  Miclde.  Compare,  also,  the  statement  of  James  Miekle  as  pub- 
lished in  the  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  VII,  p.  127.  "The  house 
that  Simon  Girty  iived  in  has  disappeared.  It  was  a  lo'j;-house  with  two 
windows  and  a  door  in  front,  and  one  window  in  the  end  upstairs." — W.  C 
Mickle  to  the  writer,  January  21,  1887,  already  cited. 

•)•  Wright's  History  of  Perry  County.  Pennsylvania,  p.  34. 

X  For  published  statements  of  Girty's  personal  appearance,  see  Brice's 
Fort  Wayne,  p.  136,  note;  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  VII,  p.  126; 
Wyandotte  (Kan.)  Gazette,  of  April  18,  1872.  A  decidedly  sensational  de- 
scription is  by  O.  M.  Spencer  :  "  His  dark,  shaggy  hair;  his  low  fo'ehead; 
his  brows  contracted,  and  meeting  above  his  short,  flat  nose;  his  gray, 
sunken  eyes,  averting  the  ingenuous  gaze;  his  lips  thin  and  compressed; 


324  Hutory  of  the  Girtys. 

What  the  feeling  of  Girty  was  toward  the  Americans  at  the 
date  of  his  last  illness  may  now  be  properly  spoken  of;  and 
as  this  brings  up  the  whole  subject  of  the  ill-Avill  entertained 
by  loyalists  in  Canada  West,  it  will  be  considered  from  that 
stand-point.  During  the  Revolution  (or,  as  the  tories  called  it, 
the  Rebellion),  many  loyalists — some  voluntary,  others  under 
compulsion-:— abandoned  the  United  States  and  retired  to  De- 
troit and  its  vicinity,  subsequently  settling  in  Canada,  where 
they  received  land  (as  did  Simon  Girty  and  his  brother  James) 
as  a  reward  for  their  adherence  to  the  British  government ; 
all  of  which  has  heretofore  been  suiiiciently  disclosed.  The 
aversion  with  which  they  regarded  the  "  rebels  "  did  not  die 
out  after  peace  had  been  declared ;  and  this,  of  course,  was 
shared  in  by  their  children  and  their  children's  children. 

At  the  date  of  Girty's  decease,  a  considerable  part  of  the 
population  of  Upper  Canada  consisted  of  loyalists  and  their 
children.  It  is  true  that  the  Americans,  after  the  Revolution, 
returned  their  dislike  with  vehemence,  and  there  was  but  very 
little  intercourse  between  them.  It  so  continued  to  the  year 
1812,  when  events  culminating  in  a  war  between  the  two 
countries  made  both  sides  in  the  West  still  more  bitter  in 
their  hatred.  Girty  entertained  a  deep  animosity  to  the 
Americans  down  to  the  time  when  death  put  an  end  to  his 
career,  which  was  shared  in  by  a  large  portion  of  the  residents 
of  the  county  of  Essex. 

That  Girty's  general  character  tended  to  recklessness — 
drunkenness — baseness — there  is  no  question ;  yet  it  had 
many  bright  spots  up«n  it;  hence,  it  was  singularly  contra- 

and  the  dark  and  sinister  expression  of  his  countenance; — to  mo  seemed  the 
very  picture  of  a  villain."  The  delineation  in  the  Wyandotte  Onzetti;  is  by 
■William  Walker,  and  may  be  found  also  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the 
Expedition  auiainst  Sandusky,  p.  199.  For  an  incidental  mention  of  Girty's 
"make-up"  on  a  certain  occasion  during  the  Revolution,  see  Mai^azine  of 
American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  "207:  "Nearly  six  feet  tall,  straight,  strong 
and  broad-chested,  with  massive  head  and  big  black  eyes,  deeply  bronzed  by 
exposure,  dressed  in  savage  fashion  and  adorned  with  paint,  feathers,  and  all 
the  war-trappings  of  his  tribe,  he  looked  every  inch  the  Indian  leader  that 
circumstances  and  his  peculiar  talents  bad  made  him." 


History  of  the  Girtys.  325 

dictory ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  it  is  so  difficult  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  it.  That  he  witnessed,  during  his  captivity 
with  the  Senecas,  the  torturing  of  unfortunate  white  pris- 
oners, and  became  familiar  with  the  most  horrible  barbarities, 
is  evident.  Possibly,  when  these  scenes  were  again  enacted 
before  his  eyes  upon  his  taking  up  his  abode  with  the  Mingoes 
during  the  Revolution,  thev  did  not  impress  him  with  such 
detestation  as  otherwise  they  would,  had  he  never  before  wit- 
nessed such  cruelties ;  then,  their  frequency,  afterward,  made 
them  less  odious,  until,  finally,  from  indifference  he  came  to 
enjoy  them,  particularly  as  they  were  inflicted  on  his  hated 
enemies. 

Girty's  delight  in  witnessing,  on  at  least  one  occasion  (that 
of  the  burning  of  Colonel  Crawford),  the  torturing  of  a  dying 
man — an  old  acquaintance — who  was  suffering  the  most  fright- 
ful agonies,  and  his  ferociousness  while  going  with  small  war- 
parties  into  border  settlements,  when  there  was  an  indiscrimi- 
nate killing  of  inoffensive  inhabitants,  or  capturing  of  borderers 
to  suffer  the  most  awful  cruelties  at  the  stake — in  which  forays 
he  generally  took  a  leading  part — fix  upon  him  the  certainty 
of  having  become  a  remorseless  foe  to  his  countrymen — as 
bloodthirsty  as  he  was  unpitying.  It  is  certain,  also,  that  he, 
at  least  once,  when  in  command  of  Indians,  did  not  object  to 
having  (if  indeed  he  did  not  order)  a  white  prisoner — Abner 
Hunt — tortured  to  death  in  the  most  horrid  manner.  Hence  it 
is,  that,  as  he  was  a  white  man — by  no  means  "  an  Indian  in 
all  but  the  color  of  his  skin" — it  is  not  too  strong  language 
to  say  of  him  that,  in  the  war  for  American  independence, 
after  he  left  Pittsburgh,  and  '"n  the  Indian  war  which  followed 
it,  he  proved  himself,  at  times,  more  than  a  savage  in  cruelty. 

In  a  general  summing  up  of  Girty's  character  by  the  author 
of  "Girty.  The  White  Indian,"  it  is  said  that  no  estimate  can 
be  either  correct  or  just  which  does  not  take  into  account  the 
influence  which  captivity  and  savage  training  had  upon  it. 
This  is  true ;  but  it  is  certain,  also,  that  too  much  stress  is 
here  put  on  the  effect  of  that* influence.  "How  powerful 
it  was,"  says  that  writer,  "  is  shown  by  the  significant  facts 


826  History  of  the  Girtys. 

that  it  not  only  effaced  the  natural  antipathy  for  the  destroyers 
of  his  parents,  but  so  perverted  his  normal  instinct  of  race 
that  he  was  never  again  in  full  sympathy  with  his  own  people, 
while,  as  far  as  kno'.vn,  he  was  always  true  to  the  Indians, 
and  retained  their  confidence  and  friendship  to  the  end  of  his 
days." 

"  The  early  settlers,"  continues  the  same  author,  "  knowing 
that  he  was  a  white  man  by  birth,  but  ignorant  of  his  captivity 
and  its  effects,  very  naturally  hated  and  despised  him  as  a 
renegade.  The  term,  however,  does  not  apply  to  him  in  its 
infamous  sense  as  it  applies  to  Elliott  and  HcKee,  who  had 
nothing  whatever  in  common  with  the  Indians,  while  Girty 
was  one  of  them  in  almost  every  thing  but  complexion.  Ho 
was  more  of  a  savage  than  a  renegade  ;  more  of  a  Brandt 
than  an  Elliott ;  and  took  part  in  the  forays  and  outrages 
against  the  whites,  not  with  the  cowardice  and  mean  malice  of 
an  outcast,  but  as  a  leader  of  his  adopted  people,  and  with 
the  bravery  and  open  hatred  of  an  Indian.  He  was  substan- 
tially an  Indian  ;  was  neither  better  nor  worse  than  an  Indian, 
and  should  in  the  main  be  judged  as  such."  * 

It  is  suggested,  in  reply,  (1)  that  Girty's  bravery  and  open 
hatred  were  of  a  kindred  nature  to  that  which  induced  Elliott 
to  join  with  the  savages  in  forays  and  outrages  against  the 
frontier  settlements ;  (2)  that  he  (Girty)  was  both  better  and 
worse  than  an  Indian  ;  (3)  that  he  should  be  judged  of  as  be- 
ing at  times,  after  he  became  a  refugee  and  while  engaged  in 
war,  a  very  bad  white  man — excelling  the  redman  in  savagery 
in  this,  that  his  civilized  training  had  been  abundantly  suffi- 
cient to  have  made  it  clear  to  him  that  he  ought  to  have 
been  more  merciful;  while  the  Indian,  from  his  infancy,  is 
taught  to  thirst  for  the  heart's  blood  of  an  enemy.  (4)  It 
is  safe  to  say  that,  wherever  Simon  Girty  was  known 
upon  the  border,  he  was  also  known  as  having  been  once  a 
prisoner  among  the  savages ;  and  the  bordermen  despised  him 
far  less  for  being  a  renegade   than  for  his  (as   they  believed) 

*  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  277. 


History  of  the  Girtys.  327 

heartless  cruelty.  (5)  He  was  the  superior  of  the  savage  in 
many  ways ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  previous  pages  of  this 
book  abundantly  prove  that  he  was  not  substantially  an  Indian. 

(6)  He  was  not  always  true  to  the  Indians,  or  they  to  him,  as 
has  already  been  stated ;  and  there  is  nothing  on  record  show- 
ing that  he  had  lost  his  natural  sympathy  for  white  people. 

(7)  The  term  renegade,  in  its  infamous  sense,  does  not  apply 
to  Girty,  as  the  magazine  article  rightfully  asserts  ;  nor  does  it 
to  McKee  or  Elliott.     Neither  one  was  a  vagabond.* 

It  was  early  published  to  the  world  that  to  James  Girty 
might  "  be  justly  attributed  most  of  the  barbarities  said  to  have 
been  perpetrated  by  his  brother  Simon"  (post,  pp.  336,  337). 
And  the  descendants  of  the  latter  have  not  been  slow  to  declare 
that  most  (if  not  all)  the  cruelty  charged  to  Simon  rightfully  be- 
longed to  James. t  This  trying  to  shift  the  burden  of  savagery 
from  the  shoulders  of  one  brother  to  those  of  another  must 
•wholly  fail.  That  James,  during  the  Revolution,  was  heartless 
and  ferocious  toward  the  Americans,  there  can  be  no  question  ; 
but  the  savage  acts  positively  known  to  have  been  performed 
by  Simon  (and  it  is  upon  these  alone  that  a  just  estimate  of 
his  course  is  to  be  formed),  who  shall  say  can  be  turned  over 
to  the  account  of  James? 

Note  I. — "And  here  [at  the  battle  of  the  Thames]  also,  ac- 
cording to  the  veracious  Campbell  [John  W.,  author  of  Bio- 
graphical Sketches,  already  cited  in  this  narrative],  Avas  ended 
the  checkered  career  of  the  notorious  White  Indian  [Simon 
Girty].  Campbell  says  :  '  It  was  the  constant  wish  of  Girty 
that  he  might  breathe  his  last  in  battle.  So  it  happened.  He 
•was  at  Proctor's  defeat  on  the  Thames,  and  was  cut  to  pieces 

•  This  j'stimate  of  Girty  is  diflferent  from  that  heretofore  made  by  me. 
See  An  Historical  Accoui;t  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusliy,  pp.  199, 
200. 

t  "He  [Simon  Girty]  left  descendants  below  Amherstburc,  one  of  whom 
came  to  see  me  some  twenty-five  years  ago,  to  complain  that  Simon  had 
been  charged  with  his  brother's  sins.  I  was  then  told  my  visitor  was  a  man 
of  good  character." — James  V.  Campbell  to  the  writer,  July  14,  1884.  Com- 
pare,  also,  Michigan  Pioneer  Collections,  Vol.  VII,  p.  126. 


328  Himtory  of  the  Oirtyss. 

by  Colonel  Johnson's  mounted  men."  [Compare  p.  336,  post.] 
Nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  have  elapsed  since  the 
battle  of  the  Thames  occurred,  and  though  in  that  long  period 
books  and  pamphlets  without  number  on  Western  history  and 
the  War  of  1812  have  been  published,  still,  strange  to  say,  in 
spite  of  all  this  investigation,  this  statement  of  Judge  Camp- 
bell was  the  nearest  approach  ihat  writers  made  to  the  actual 
truth  concerning  Girty's  death,  and  was,  with  one  very  late  ex- 
ception (Mr.  Buttorfield)  received  by  all  as  authentic  his- 
tory."— Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  275. 
Compare,  in  this  connection,  as  "  to  the  one  very  late  excep- 
tion," An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  San- 
dusky, p.  198.  But  see,  also,  a  previous  publication  :  Brice's 
Fort  Wayne,  p.  135,  note. 

Note  II. — The  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV, 
p.  276,  also  says  :  "  He  [Simon  Giity]  declined  rapidly  [in 
his  last  illness],  but  showed  no  concern  whatever  about  his 
condition,  and  bore  his  sufferings  with  the  proverbial  stoicism 
and  fortitude  of  his  adopted  race.  During  the  bitter  weather 
prevailing  but  few  bothered  themselves  about  the  now  deso- 
late and  sinking  recluse.  The  remnant  of  his  old  tribe,  how- 
ever, did  not  entirely  forget  him  in  his  extremity,  and  occa- 
sionally a  solitary  Wyandot,  as  seamed  and  scarred  and  griz- 
zled as  himself,  would  come  to  his  bedside  suddenly  and  un- 
announced, take  the  thin  hand  of  his  dying  brother  '  Kate- 
pacomen,'  and  with  tender  grasp,  but  impassive  countenance, 
greet  him  in  the  familiar  tongue  of  his  dusky  people." 

As  to  the  remnant  of  Girty's  old  tribe  not  forgetting 
him  in  his  last  illness,  and  as  to  a  solitary  Wyandot  now 
and  then  taking  him  by  the  hand,  we  may  say,  that  the 
Detroit  'Wyandots  never  had  any  particular  relations  with 
him,  and  the  Ohio  Wyandots,  in .  1818,  were  very  careful 
to  denounce  him  in  unmeasured  terms  to  the  whites  (see 
An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  San- 
dusky, p.    194,  note) ;   and   none,  surely,  would  have   gone 


History  of  tlie  Girtys.  329 

all  the  way  to  his  home  to  take  him  by  the  hand,  even  had 
they  known  of  his  illness,  which,  it  is  very  probable,  they 
did  not.  The  magazine  article  seems  to  have  overlooked  the 
fact  that  the  Ohio  Wyandots — those  with  whom  Girty  was 
wont  to  associate  in  previous  years — were  friendly  to  the 
United  States  in  the  War  of  1812-15.  That  Girty  "  showed 
no  concern  whatever  about  his  condition  "  when  dying,  "  and 
bore  his  sufferings  with  the  proverbial  stoicism  and  fortitude  of 
his  adopted  race  [that  is,  the  red  race],"  are  statements  already 
answered  suflBcicntly,  it  is  believed  (ante,  pp.  321,  322).  The 
phrases,  his  "adopted  race,"  "his  old  tribe,"  "his  dying 
brother,"  "  his  dusky  people,"  are  all  given,  it  is  evident, 
under  the  mistaken  apprehension  that  he  was  an  adopted  Wy- 
andot. That  the  cold  weather  prevented  some  friends  from 
visiting  him  during  his  last  illness  who  otherwise  would  have 
been  by  his  bedside,  is  not  improbable ;  but  there  were  with  him, 
besides  his  wife,  his  two  daughters  and  their  husbands,  and 
his  son  Prideaux.  There  were  also  a  number  of  near  neigh- 
bors who  frequently  called.  His  funeral  was  a  large  one.  It 
is  wildly  erroneous  to  speak  of  him  as  being,  on  his  death- 
bed, "  a  desolate  and  sinking  recluse." 


880  Hiatory  of  the  Qirtya. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


During  the  Indian  War  in  the  West  which  followed  the 
Revolution,  the  reliability  and  patriotism  of  Thomas  Girty 
could  always  be  counted  on.  Having  the  name  of  Girty, 
however,  was  the  cause  of  some  trouble  to  hiui.  A  French- 
man, in  1792,  was  in  jail  in  Pittsburgh,  suspected  of  being  a 
spy.  This  was  at  a  time  whon  the  whole  people  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  were  greatly  excited  because  of  the  appearance, 
across  the  Ohio,  of  hostile  savages.  The  man  acknowl- 
edged that  he  was  sent  to  gain  information  of  the  strength  of 
the  town,  and  that  he  had  his  orders  from  Colonel  Butler,  of 
Niagara,  He  also  stated,  but  falsely,  that  two  men  of  Pitts- 
burgh "  Avere  concerned  with  him — one  of  them  a  confidential 
character  in  the  public  service ;  the  other,  Tom  Girty."  But 
the  fact  was  Thomas  took  an  active  part  against  the  savages 
in  tl  's  war.  He  went  out  several  times  as  a  scout  in  the 
years  1792,  1793,  and  1794,  doing  valuable  service. 

Some  time  previous  to  1792,  Thomas,  with  his  family, 
moved  across  the  Alleghany  river,  never  returning  to  Pitts- 
burgh to  live.*  On  the  22d  of  May  of  that  year,  a  white 
woman  was  captured  by  the  Indians  at  Reed's  block-house, 
twenty-five  miles  from  Pittsburgh.  During  her  captivity, 
which  was  brief  (as  she  soon  escaped),  she  was  asked  by  one 
of  her  savage  captors  if  she  knew  Thomas  Girty;  she  said 
she  did.  The  Indian  then  said  that  he  (Girty)  lived  near 
Pittsburgh ;  that  he  was  a  good  man,  but  not  so  good  as  his 
brother  (Simon)  ;  but  that  his  wife  was  a  bad  woman — "she 

*  It  has  been  published  that  Thomas  resided  in  Pittsburgh  as  hite  as  1793 
(sue  Johnson's  statement,  as  mentioned  in  Howe's  Ohio,  pp.  247,  248).  He 
was,  it  is  true,  generally  credited  with  still  living  there  instead  of  near 
there,  as  he  should  have  been. 


Hidory  of  the  Oirtya.  831 

tella  lies  on  tlio  Indians,  and  ia  a  friend  to  America."  *  It  is 
thus  that  the  loyalty  of  the  wife  of  Thomas  was  made  known, 
strange  to  say.  by  a  savage.  Ho  had  heard  the  account  of 
her  probably  from  the  lips  of  Simon ;  doubtless  it  was  true. 
Except  the  foregoing,  nothing  has  been  preserved  of  Mrs. 
Thomas  Girty.     Her  life-career  is  wholly  unknown. 

The  spot  chosen  by  Thomas  for  his  home  was  afterward 
known  as  "Girty's  Run,"  so  called  because  of  his  living  there, 
and  not,  as  sometimes  stated,  for  the  reason  that  the  "Girty 
family "  had  there  their  residence.!  The  brothers,  Simon, 
James,  and  George,  left  Pittsburgh  before  there  were  any  set- 
tlements on  the  north  side  of  the  Alleghany.  "  The  neigh- 
borhood of  Pittsburgh,  across  the  .  .  .  river,"  as  one 
account  has  it,  "was  the  stamping-ground,  as  the  early  set- 
tlers called  it,  of  the  Girtys,  and  the  scenery  of  that  neigh- 
borhood still  attests  their  former  residence.  Girty's  Hill  ia 
some  four  or  five  miles  north  of  the  city,  and  Girty's  run 
flows  along  its  base."  J  But  the  region  thus  mentioned  was 
not  the  "  stamping-ground  of  the  Girtys,"  but  of  Thomas  and 
his  family  simply ;  and  the  scenery  of  that  neighborhood  still 
attests  only  their  "  former  residence." 

Thomas  died  on  Girty's  Run.g  Hchad  raised  there  and  in 
Pittsburgh  a  respectable  family.  Two  children — John  and 
Nancy — are  hereafter  incidentally  mentioned.  The  father 
breathed  his  last  on  the  3d  of  November,  1820.  An  obituary, 
published  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  although  containing  er- 
rors, mentions  some  f^cts  concerning  the  deceased  tha'  are  of 
importance,  but  which  have  already  been  given  in  thi?  narra- 
tive. "  Could  the  incidents  of  his  life,"  says  the  Gazette,  "  be 
collected,  they  would  form  a  valuable  work,  and  would  give  a 

*  Loudon's  Indinn  Wars,  Vol.  I,  p.  90. 

t  This  error  is  made  in  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against 
Sandusky  (p.  183,  note),  and  in  some  previous  publications. 

X  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  Vol.  I,  p.  126. 

g  Not  at  "Squirrel  Hill,"  hereafter  described,  east  of  Pittsburgh,  as  stated 
in  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  274;  nor  do  I  find  that 
he  ever  lived  there  as  mentioned  on  p.  259  of  the  article  just  referred  to. 


882  Hifitory  of  the  Oirtyt. 

proper  idea  of  the  intropiflity,  enterprise,  and  heavy  suffering 
of  that  chvss  of  early  settlers  who  were  formerly  called  '  In- 
dian hunters.'"*  But  Thomas  was  never  an  "Indian  hun- 
ter;" the  title  helongs  to  such  men  as  Brady  and  Wetzel,  but 
not  to  Girty,  or  his  brothers. 

Some  strange  statements  have  found  their  way  into  print 
concerning  Thomas.  Just  how  many  errors  can  be  compressed 
into  a  short  paragraph,  will  hero  be  seen :  "  Thomas  Girty, 
alone,  of  the  four  brothers,  returned  to  civilized  life.  IIo 
was  one  of  Brady'f  spies  in  the  Indian  wars  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  died,  perhaps,  in  Butler  county,  Pa.,  in  18"20  !"  f 

John  Turner,  half-brother  of  the  Girty  boys,  survived  the 
last  of  them  nearly  twenty  years.  His  death  occurred  at 
"Squirrel  Hill,"  on  the  20th  of  May,  1840.^  The  "Hill" 
spoken  of  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Monongahela,  immediately 
south  of  the  mouth  of  Four  Mile  Run ;  that  is,  four  miles 
from  the  confluence  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela. 
The  river  bottom  is  quite  narrow  there,  and  the  hill  is  higher 
than  others  in  the  vicinity.  Earth-works  were  raised  on  it  in 
the  summer  of  1803,  when  the  Confederates  threatened  the 
city.  Turner,  it  is  believed,  lived  near  a  spring  about  half  % 
mile  back  from  the  front. 

Turner  made  a  will  on  the  tenth  of  the  month  preceding 
that  in  which  he  died,  which  was  probated  and  recorded  three 
days  after  his  death.  He  devised  his  farm  where  he  lived,  of 
113  acres,  to  John  McCasslin  and  Priscilla,  his  wife,  during 
life,  and  then  in  fee  to  their  children.  He  gave  to  Prideaux 
Girty,  son  of  Simon,  $1,000;  to  his  niece,  Sarah,  sister  of 
Prideaux,  then  the  wife  of  Joseph  Munger,  the  same  sum ;  to 
John,  son  of  his  half-brother  Thomas,  $500  ;  to  Nancy  Gib- 
son, sister  of  John,  $100;  to  Joseph  Munger,  "for  his  atten- 
tion and  friendship,"  $500 ;  and  to  Catharine  Bealer,  one  dol- 

•  Compare  Niles's  Weekly  Register,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  26'2,  already  cited  in 
a  previous  chapter. 

t  See  Newton's  History  of  the  Pan-Handle,  West  Virginia,  p.  150. 

X  The  date  of  his  decease,  I  have  obtained  from  a  record  preserved  in  Al- 
legheny county,  Pennsylvania. 


JIutory  of  the  Oirty».  H38 


lar.*  Tho  fact  that  the  deceased  had  previously  donated  a 
burying-ground  to  the  citizens  of  tho  lociility  where  ho  lived, 
gave  him  tho  reputation  of  being  "  the  benefactor  of  Squirrel 

Ilill/'t 

In  tho  Pittsburgh  Daily  Gazette,  of  the  date  of  July,  1868, 
is  a  translation  of  the  record  previously  referred  to  in  this 
narrative,  of  John  Turner's  baptism.  "By  the  way,"  says 
the  translator,  "  does  not  the  name  of  the  baptized  child,  Jean 
or  John  Turner,  remind  some  of  our  old  citizens  of  a  tall,  up- 
right, active  man  named  John  Turner,  who  used  often  to  be 
Been  walking  our  streets,  and  whom,  it  was  always  supposed 
by  us  boys,  had  once  been  a  prisoner  with  the  French  or  In- 
dians ?  Was  our  'John  Turner  the  baptised  child  ?  "  Of 
course;  the  will  just  mentioned  answers  that  question,  beyond 
any  mistake,  in  the  affirmative,  as  he  was  tho  "John  Turner" 
of  Squirrel  Ilill.t 

Catharine  Mnlott  Girty,  widow  of  Simon  Girty,  survived 
her  husband  many  years.  She  died  in  Colchester  South,  at 
the  home  of  Joseph  JIunger,§  in  January,  1852.  Before 
1845,  she  sued  William  Mickle  for  dower  in  what  had  so  long 
been  the  Girty  homestead,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  her  suit.|| 
The  papers  in  the  case  are  not  in  existence.^[  Mrs.  Girty's 
life  was,  indeed,  a  most  romantic  one.  It  was  a  consolation 
in  her  old  acje  to  know  that  those  of  her  children  who  were 
dead  had  lived  lives  of  respectability,  and  that  those  who 
were  yet  living  had  established,  each  one,  an  unsullied  repu- 
tation. 

*  John,  son  of  Thomas  Girty,  is  nneniioiied  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany, 
p.  122. 

t  Mai;Bzine  of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  p.  266.  The  benefaction 
was  made  by  a  deed,  executed  July  31,  1838. 

{Compare  Lambing's  Register  of  Fort  Duquesne,  p.  96,  and  his  Cath- 
olic Historical  Kesearche?,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  38,  89.  For  mention  of  "  Squirrel 
Hill,"  see  Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,  Vol.  I,  p.  297. 

2  William  C.  Mickle  to  the  writer,  January  21,  1887,  before  cited. 

II  Id. 

%  MS.  letter  of  James  Bartlet,  dated  December  28, 1886. 


APPENDIX. 


FIRST    PUBLISHED    ACCOUNT   OF    THE   GIRTYS. 
[Ante,  pp.  4,  319.] 

"That  western  portion  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  bor- 
dering on  the  Ohio  has  been  considered  by  the  Indians  as  a 
country  highly  favored  by  heaven ;  covered  with  every  kind 
of  game,  i';  was  not  to  be  supposed  they  would  ';amely  surren- 
der theii  right  to  the  soil.  But  when  the  wliites  commenced 
the  settJrment  of  Western  Virginia — now  Kentucky — the 
spirit  of  the  savage  wairior  assumed  an  attitude  of  phrensy 
in  their  aitacks  which  called  forth  a  corresponding  spirit  to 
repel.  At  this  period,  the  Girtys,  with  the  Shawanese,  Dela- 
wares,  Mingoes,  etc.,  gave  a  new  character  to  Indian  warfiire. 

"  Old  Girty  was  one  of  those  peasants  who  early  emigrated 
from  Europe  to  Pennsylvania,  in  pursuit  of  liberty  and  ease ; 
but  like  many  of  his  fellows,  he  was  incapable  of  enjoying  it ; 
for  his  hours  were  wasted  in  idleness  and  intemperance,  and 
he  was  finally  knocked  on  the  head  by  a  neighboring  boor, 
who  bore  oflF  Mrs.  Girty  as  a  trophy  of  his  prowess.  He  had 
four  sons:  Thomas,  Simon,  George,  and  James. 

"  George,  Simon,  and  James  were  taken  prisoners  by  the 
ShaAvanese,  Delawares,  and  Senecas,  in  that  Avar  Avhich  first 
developed  the  military  talents  of  General  Washington.  George 
(the  supposed  son  of  Colonel  C.)  Avas  adopted  amongst  the 
Delawares,  and  continued  Avith  them  until  his  death.  His 
manners  Avere  perfectly  Indian,  combining  Avith  them  the  dar- 
ing intrepidity  of  a  frontier  white  man.  His  bravery  at  the 
battles  of  KanaAvha,  Blue  Licks,  and  Sandusky  are  yet  spoken 
of  by  his  red  brethren.  In  hip  later  days,  he  resigned  himself 
to  intemperance,  and  died  drunk  some  time  ago,  on  the 
Miami  of  the  Lakes  [Maumee].  ,,  ■ 

(886) 


336  History  of  the  Girtys. 

"  Simon  was  adopted  by  the  Senecas,  and  became  as  expert 
a  hunter  as  any  of  them.  His  character,  as  related  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Ohio,  '  of  being  a  savage,  unrelenting  monster,'  is 
much  exaggerated.  It  is  true  that  he  joined  the  Indians  in 
most  of  tlieir  war-parties,  and  conformed  to  their  mode  of 
warfare,  but  it  is  well  authenticated  that  he  has  saved  many 
prisoners  from  death.  He  was  considered  an  honest  man, 
paying  his  debts  to  the  last  cent ;  and  it  is  known  that 
he  has  sold  his  only  horse  to  discharge  a  claim  against  him. 
It  is  true  that  he  was  a  perfect  Indian  in  his  manners  ;  that  his 
utmost  felicity  was  centered  in  a  keg  of  rum  ;  that  under  its 
influence  he  was  abusive  to  all  around  him,  even  to  his  best 
friends.  Yet  we  must  recollect  that  his  education  was  bar- 
barous, and  that  mankind  are  more  apt  to  sink  into  barbarism 
than  they  are  to  acquire  the  habits  of  civilized  life. 

"  For  the  last  ten  years  he  had  been  crippled  with  rheuma- 
tism, yet  he  rode  to  his  hunting-grounds  in  pursuit  of  game, 
and  would  boast  that  he  preserved  a  warlike  spirit  in  the 
midst  of  bodily  pain,  and  would  often  exclaim,  'May  I  breathe 
my  last  on  a  field  of  battle.'  In  this  wish  Simon  has  bcjn 
gratified  ;  for  in  the  battle  of  the  Moravian  towns,  on  the  river 
Thames,  he  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Co.  Johnson's  mounted  men. 
[He  lived  nearly  four  years  after  this  was  written.] 

"  James  Girty  was  adopted  by  the  Shawanese,  and  became 
an  expert  hunter,  and  imbibed  as  he  arrived  at  manhood  the 
sanguinary  spirit  of  the  most  ferocious  savage,  with  the 
vicious  habits  of  the  white  men  with  whom  he  associated.  It 
is  said  that  he  joined  the  Indians  in  all  their  attacks  on  the 
first  settlers  of  Kentucky ;  neither  age  nor  sex  were  spared  at 
his  hands ;  and  it  was  his  boast,  although  unable  to  walk  from 
rheumatism  and  other  diseases,  that  neither  women  nor  chil- 
dren ever  escaped  the  tomahawk,  if  he  got  within  reach  of 
them.  Traders  who  are  acquainted  with  him  say  that  he 
never  turned  on  his  heel  to  save  a  wretched  prisoner  from  the 
torments  of  the  fire,  but  would  rather  instruct  the  Indians  in 
new  and  more  refined  torture.  ^  --^^-^  --^+-^-^-r-^ 

"  To  this  ruthless  tiger  may  be  justly  attributed  most  of 


Appendix  B,  C.  337 


the  barbaritiuj  daid  to  have  been  perpetrated  by  his  brother 
Simon.  By  Elliott  and  Proctor,  James  Girty  was  caressed, 
for  congenial  souls  ever  mingle  in  sentiment." — Missouri 
Gazette,  May  7, 1814.     See  pp.  321,  327,  ante. 


B. 

UECORD  OF  THE  BAPTISM  OF  JOHN  TURNER  (TRANSLATION). 

[Ante,  pp.  12-333.] 

In  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-six,  on 
the  eighteenth  of  August,  was  baptized  with  the  customary 
ceremonies  by  us,  Recollet  priest,  the  undersigned  chaplain 
of  the  king  at  Fort  Duquesne,  under  the  title  of  the  Assump- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  John,  of  English  parentage,  aged 
two  and  a  half  years,  son  of  John  Turner,  an  Englishman, 
and  Mary  Newton,  an  Englishwoman,  the  father  and  mother 
being  united  in  lawful  wedlock.  The  god-father  was  John 
Hannigan  [or  Ilogan],  an  Irishman  and  a  Catholic,  the  god- 
mother Sarah  Foissey,  an  Irishwoman  and  a  Catholic,  who  de- 
clared they  could  not  sign. 

In  testimony  whereof  we  have  here  signed : 

Fr.  Denys  Baron,  P.  R., 

Chaplain. 


0. 

mention    of    GEORGE    OIRTY    AS    A    TRADER. 
[Ante,  p.  21.] 

"  16/;t  [of  July,  1773].  Left  Bedford ;  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains ;  came  to  a  place  called  the  Shades  of 
Death — a  damp  and  lonesome  place — and  arrived  at  Stoney 
creek,  in  the  evening,  where  we  staid  all  night. 

"  nth.  We  had  good  roads  until  we  came  to  Laurel-hill ; 
22 


338  History  of  the  Girtys. 

passed  Ligonicr,  a  small  town  surrounded  by  extraordinary 
good  land,  and  put  up  at  Larry  Irwin's. 

"  18^//.  We  traveled  a  hilly  and  swampy  road,  but  the  land 
very  good.  We  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  before  dark,  and  put 
up  at  Sample's. 

"  19//i.  Concluded  to  rest  ourselves  and  horses.  The  peo-  , 
pie  here  treated  us  very  kindly.  We  had  a  conference  with 
Captain  White  Eyes,  a  Delaware  chief,  who  was  on  his  return 
from  Philadelphia.  He  expressed  much  satisfaction  at  our 
arrival,  and  said  he  would  go  with  us,  but  that  he  was  under 
the  necessity  of  waiting  for  Joseph  Simmons,  from  Lancaster, 
who  was  to  bring  his  goods  from  there.  He  informed  us  that 
John  Gibson,  an  Indian  trnder,  had  set  out  that  morning  for 
Newcomer's  town,  the  place  we  were  going  to,  and  advised  us 
to  endeavor  to  overtake  him,  as  he  would  be  a  very  suitable 
person  to  accompany  us. 

"  20//t.  We  had  made  preparations  to  set  out  early  this 
morning  in  order  to  overtake  the  Indian  trader  [Gibson]  ;  but, 
upon  inquiry,  learned  that  he  had  returned  and  said  that  John 
Logan,  a  Mingo  Indian,  was  lying  in  wait  to  kill  him.  He 
had  returned  to  town  among  the  Indians  for  protection.  He 
got  G.iy-a-shuta,  a  Mingo  chief,  and  Captain  White  Eyes  to 
agree  to  go  and  see  what  was  the  matter  with  Logan  and  en- 
deavor to  pacify  him.  White  Eyes  said  he  would  attend  us 
all  tiie  way  to  Newcomer's  town;  he  thought  the  behavior  of 
Logan  would  make  us  afraid,  as  he  should  be  were  he  in  our 
place. — They  set  out  in  a  canoe ;  and  we,  with  a  Delaware  In- 
dian, by  land.  We  crossed  the  Alleghany  branch  [river]  in  a 
canoe,  and  our  horses  swam  by  the  side.  When  we  came  near 
to  a  place  called  Logtown,  where  Logan  lay,  our  guide  stopped 
and  hearkened  very  attentively,  though  we  could  not  tell  what 
he  was  listening  at ;  but,  before  we  had  proceeded  much  fur- 
ther, we  heard  a  great  noise.  Our  guide,  who  could  not  speak 
one  word  of  English,  made  motions  to  us  to  stop  and  retire. 
He  took  us  up  a  hollow  to  some  water,  where  we  staid  while 
he  went  to  the  camp  whence  the  noise  proceeded.  He,  for 
our  safety,  secretly  informed  George  Girty,  a  trader,  where 


Appendix  D.  .889 


we  were.  lie  [Girty]  immediately  came  to  us  and  conducted 
us  around  the  camp  to  the  river  side.  He  told  us  that  an  In- 
dian had  got  drunk  and  fell  in  the  river  and  was  drowned  ;  and 
that  Logan  suspected  Gibson  of  making  him  drunk,  and  kill- 
ing him.  Soon  after  we  came  to  the  river,  Captain  White 
Eves  and  our  Indian  y;uide  came  with  canoes,  and  we  again 
swam  our  horses  by  the  side  [of  the  canoe]  over  the  [Ohio] 
river,  to  the  house  of  John  Gibson." — From  the  Journsd  of  a 
Mission  to  the  Indians  in  Ohio,  by  Friends  from  Pennsylvania, 
July-September,  1773,  published  in  the  Historical  Magazine 
for  1870,  New  Series,  Vol.  7,  pp.  103-107. 


D. 

FICTITIOUS  ACCOUNT   OF    SIMON    (ilKTY    .iOINIXCl   THE    INDIANS    IN 

1774. 

[Ante,  )..  28.] 

"  The  two  [Simon  Girty  and  another]  were  acting  as  scouts 
in  an  expedition  set  on  foot  by  Governor  Dunmore,  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  year  1774,  against  the  Indian  towns  of  the  Ohio. 
The  two  divisions  of  the  force  raised  for  this  expe<lition — the 
one  commanded  by  Governor  Dunmore  in  person,  the  other 
by  General  Andrew  Lewis — were  by  the  orders  of  the  governor 
to  form  a  junction  at  Point  Pleasant,  where  the  Great  Kanawha 
empties  into  the  Ohio.  At  this  place.  General  Lewis  arrived 
with  his  command  on  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  of  September; 
but  after  remaining  here  two  or  three  weeks  in  anxious  ex- 
pectation of  the  approach  of  the  other  division,  he  received 
dispatches  from  the  governor  informing  him  that  Dunmore 
had  changed  his  plan  and  determined  to  march  at  once  against 
the  villages  on  the  Scioto,  and  ordering  him  to  cross  the  Ohio 
immediately,  and  join  him  as  speedily  as  possible. 

"  It  was  during  the  delay  at  the  Point  that  the  incident  oc- 
curred which  is  supposed  to  have  had  such  a  tremendous  in- 
fluence on  Girty's  after  life.     He  and  his  associate  scout  had 


340  Hutory  of  the  Girlyn. 

rendered  some  two  or  three  months'  service,  for  which  they 
had  iis  yet  drawn  no  part  of  their  pay ;  and  in  their  present 
idleness,  they  discovered  means  of  enjoyment,  of  which  they 
had  not  money  to  avail  themselves.  In  this  strait,  they  called 
upon  General  Lewis  in  person,  at  his  head-quarters,  and  de- 
manded their  pay.  For  some  unknown  cause,  this  was  re- 
fused, which  produced  a  slight  murmuring  on  the  part  of  the 
applicants,  when  General  Lewis  cursed  them,  and  struck  them 
several  severe  blows  over  their  heads  with  his  cane.  Girty's 
associate  was  not  much  hurt,  but  he  himself  was  so  badly 
wounded  on  the  forehead,  or  temple,  that  the  blood  streamed 
down  his  cheek  and  side  to  the  floor.  Ho  quickly  turned  to 
leave  the  apartment ;  but  on  reaching  the  door,  wheeled 
around,  planted  his  feet  firmly  upon  the  sill,  braced  an  arm 
against  either  side  of  the  frame,  fixed  his  keen  eyes  unflinch- 
ingly upon  the  general,  and  uttered  the  exclamation, '  By  God, 
sir,  your  quarters  shall  sivim  in  blood  for  this;'  and  instantly 
disappeared  beyond  pursuit. 

"  General  Lewis  was  not  very  much  pleased  with  the  sud- 
den and  apparently  causeless  change  which  Governor  Dun- 
more  had  made  in  the  plan  of  the  expedition.  Nevertheless, 
he  immed'ately  prepared  to  obey  the  new  orders,  and  had 
given  directions  for  the  construction  of  rafts,  upon  which  to 
cross  the  Ohio,  when,  before  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the 
tenth  of  October,  some  of  the  scouts  suddenly  entered  the 
encampment  with  the  information  that  an  immense  body  of 
Indians  was  just  at  hand,  hastening  upon  the  Point.  This 
was  the  force  of  the  brave  and  skillful  chief.  Cornstalk,  whose 
genius  and  valor  were  so  conspicuous  on  that  day,  thoughout 
the  whole  of  Avhich  raged  the  hardly  contested  and  most 
bloody  '  Battle  of  the  Plains.' 

"  Girty  had  fled  from  General  Lewis  immediately  to  the 
chief,  Cornstalk,  foresworn  his  white  nature,  and  leagued  him- 
self with  the  red  man  forever  ;  and,  with  the  Indians,  he  was 
now  advancing,  under  the  cover  of  night,  to  surprise  the  Vir- 
ginian camp."  ,__  .,^,  _^-  i^i;;^^,  . 


Appendix  E.  341 


E. 

OATHS    TAKEN     HY    SIMON     (ilRTY    WHEN     COMMISSIONED    SECOND 
LIEUTENANT    UNDER   MAJOR   JOHN    CONNOLLY. 

[Aiitp,  p.  ;u.] 

"  1.  I,  Simon  Girty,  tlo  sincerely  promise  and  swear  that  I 
will  be  faithful,  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  his  Majesty  King 
George  the  Third.     So  help  me  God. 

"  2.  I,  Simon  Girty,  do  swear  that  I  from  my  heart  abhor, 
detest,  and  abjure  as  impious  and  heretical,  that  damnable 
doctrine  and  position,  that  princes  excommunicated  and  de- 
prived by  the  pope,  or  any  authority  of  the  see  of  Rome,  may 
be  deposed  or  murdered  by  their  subjects,  or  any  other  what- 
soever. And  I  do  declare,  that  no  foreign  prince,  person, 
prelate,  state,  or  potentate,  hath  or  ought  to  have  any  juris- 
diction power,  superiority,  pre-eminence  or  authority,  ecclesi- 
astical or  spiritual,  within  this  realm.     So  help  me  God. 

"  3.  I,  Simon  Girty,  do  declare  that  I  do  believe  there  is 
not  any  transubstantiation  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  or  in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine  at  or  after  the 
consecration  thereof,  by  any  person  or  persons  whatever.  So 
help  me  God. 

"  4.  I,  Simon  Girty,  do  truly  and  sincerely  acknowledge, 
profess,  testify,  and  declare  in  my  conscience  before  God  and 
the  world,  that  our  sovereign  lord.  King  George  the  Third,  is 
lawful  and  rightful  king  of  this  realm  and  all  other  his 
Majesty's  dominions  thereunto  belonging. 

"And  I  do  solemnly  and  sincerely  declare  that  I  do  believe 
in  my  conscience  that  the  person  pretended  to  be  Prince  of 
Wales  during  the  life  of  the  late  King  James,  and  since  his 
decease  pretending  to  be  and  takes  upon  himself  the  style  and 
title  of  King  of  England,  by  the  name  of  James  the  Third,  or 
of  Scotland  by  the  name  of  James  the  Eighth,  or  the  style  and 
title  of  King  of  Great  Britain,  hath  iiOt  any  right  or  title 
whatever  to  the  crown  of  this  realm  or  any  other  the  domin-  ^ 


342  History  of  the  Girfi/n. 

ions  theroiuito  beloiigiiij^,  aiid  I  do  renounce,  refuse,  and  ab- 
jure any  allegiance  or  obedience  to  him. 

"And  I  do  swear  that  I  will  bear  faithful  and  true  allegiance 
to  his  Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  and  him  will  defend  to 
the  utmost  of  my  power  against  all  traitorous  conspiracies 
and  attempts  whatsoever,  which  shall  bo  made  against  his  per- 
son, crown,  or  dignity,  and  I  will  do  my  utmost  endeavors  to 
disclose  and  make  known  to  his  Majesty  and  his  successors  all 
treason  and  traitorous  conspiracies  which  I  shall  know  to  be 
against  him  or  any  of  them. 

"And  I  do  faithfully  promise  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  to 
support,  maintain,  and  defend  the  succession  of  the  crown 
against  him,  the  said  James,  and  all  other  persons  whatsoever, 
which  succession  (by  an  act  entitleil  an  act  for  the  further 
limitation  of  the  crown  and  better  securing  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  the  subject)  is  and  stands  limited  to  the  Princess 
Sophie,  late  Electress  and  Duchess  Dowager  of  Hanover,  and 
the  heirs  of  her  bodv  being  Protestants — and  all  these  things 
I  do  plainly  and  sincerely  acknowledge  and  swear,  according 
to  these  express  words  by  me  spoken  and  according  to  the 
plain  and  common  sense  and  understanding  of  the  same  words, 
without  any  equivocation,  mental  evasion,  or  secret  reserva- 
tion whatsoever,  and  I  do  make  this  recognition,  acknowledg- 
ment, abjuration,  renunciation,  and  promise  heartily,  willingly, 
and  truly  upon  the  true  faith  of  a  Christian.  So  help  me 
God." 


"LKTTINO  loose  the  IIORRIBIiE  HELIi-llOUNDS  OF  SAVA(JE  WAU." 

[Ante,  p.  42.] 

"  Sir  ; — In  consideration  of  the  measures  proper  to  be 
pursued  in  the  next  campaign,  the  making  a  diversion  on  the 
frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  by  parties  of  Indians 
conducted  by  proper  Leaders  as.  proposed  by  Lt.  Gov.  Ham- 
ilton has  been  maturely  weighed. 


Appendix  F.  343 


"  That  officer  in  liis  Letter  to  the  Earl  of  Darttnouth  dated 
at  Detroit  the  2d  of  September  hist,  that  he  liad  then  with  him 
Deputies  from  the  Ottawas,  Cliippewas,  Wynndots,  Shawancse, 
Senecas,  Dehiwaros,  Cherokcea,  and  I'ouattouattamies.  That 
their  inclination  was  for  War  and  tliat  it  was  with  much  ditii- 
culty  he  had  restrained  them  from  Hostilities,  which  he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  do,  finding  by  a  letter  from  you  dated  the  19th 
of  July,  that  you  had  sent  back  some  Ottawas,  who  had  offered 
their  Services  desiring  them  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness 
next  Spring. 

"  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Indians  arc  in  the  same 
disposition  and  that  they  will  readily  and  eagerly  engage  in 
any  Enterprize  in  which  it  may  be  thought  fit  to  employ  them 
under  the  direction  of  the  King's  officers,  and  as  it  is  His 
Majesty's  resolution  that  the  most  vigorous  Efforts  should  be 
made,  and  every  means  employed  that  Providence  has  put  into 
His  Majesty's  Hands,  for  crushing  the  Rebellion  &  restoring 
the  Constitution  it  is  the  King's  Command  that  you  should  di- 
rect Lieut.  Governor  Hamilton  to  assemble  as  many  of  the  In- 
dians of  his  District  as  he  conveniently  can,  and  placing  proper 
persons  at  their  Head,  to  whom  he  is  to  make  suitable  allow- 
ances, to  conduct  their  Parties,  and  restrain  them  from  com- 
mitting violence  on  the  well  affected  and  inoffensive  Inhabitants, 
employ  them  in  making  a  Diversion  and  exciting  an  alarm 
upon  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania. 

"And  as  there  is  good  ground  to  believe  there  are  consider- 
able numbers  of  loyal  subjects  in  those  Parts  who  would  gladly 
embrace  an  opportunity  of  delivering  themselves  from  the 
Tyranny  and  oppression  of  the  Rebel  Committees;  it  is  His 
Majesty's  pleasure  that  you  do  authorize  and  direct  Lieut 
Govr  Hamilton  to  invite  all  such  loyal  subjects  to  join  him  & 
to  assure  them  of  the  same  pay  and  allowances  as  are  given  to 
His  Majesty's  Corps  raised  in  America  and  that  such  of  them 
as  shall  continue  to  serve  His  Majesty  until  the  Rebellion  is  sup- 
pressed and  peace  restored  shall  receive  His  Majesty's  Bounty 
of  200  Acres  of  Land.  These  offers  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  in- 
duce many  Persons  to  engage  in  the  King's  Service ;  which 


IJ44  History  of  the  Girtyt. 

may  enable  Lt.  Gov.  Hamilton  to  extend  his  operations,  so  as 
to  divide  the  attention  of  the  Rebels,  and  oblige  them  to  collect 
a  considerable  Force  to  oppose  him,  which  can  not  fail  of 
weakening  their  main  army  k  facilitating  the  operations  di- 
rected to  be  carried  on  against  them  in  other  Quarters,  and 
thus  bring  the  War  to  a  more  speedy  Issue  and  restore  those 
deluded  People  to  their  former  State  of  Happiness  and  pros- 
perity, which  are  tlie  favorite  wishes  of  the  Royal  Rreast  and 
the  great  object  of  all  His  Majesty's  measures. 

"A  supply  of  presents  for  tlie  Indians  &  other  necessaries 
will  be  wanted  for  this  Service,  and  you  will  of  course  send 
Lieut.  Govr.  Hamilton  what  is  proper  and  sufticient. 

"  Inclosed  is  a  List  of  the  Names  of  several  Persons  resid- 
ing on  the  Frontiers  of  Virginia,  recommended  by  Lord  Dun- 
more  for  their  Loyalty  and  attaclunent  to  Government,  and 
who  His  Lordship  thinks  will  be  able  to  give  great  assistance 
to  Lieut.  Gov.  Hamilton  through  their  extensive  Influence 
among  the  Inhabitants." — Lord  George  Germain,  from  White 
Hall,  March  20,  1777,  to  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  and  sent  to  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Hamilton,  from  Quebec,  May  21st,  fol' owing. 


G. 

SIMON     GIRTY     AND    THE     SIEGE    OF    FOUT    HENHY,     WHEELING, 

IN  1777. 
I. 

QIRTY    INVESTS  THK   FORT— A    MYTHICAL   ACCOUNT. 

,  [Ante,  p.  415.] 

"In  the  early  part  of  September  [1777],  it  was  ascertained 
that  an  immense  Indian  army  was  concentrating  on  the  San- 
dusky river,  under  the  direction  of  the  notorious  white  rene- 
gade, Simon  Girty.  This  scheming  outlaw  had  almost  un- 
bounded command  over  the  Wyandots,  and  was  so  far  influen- 
tial with  the  Mingoes  and  Shawanese  as  to  secure  a  large  ac- 
cession  to   his   force   from  the  warlike  tribes.     The   Indian 


Appeiidir  0.  346 


army  was  well  appointed,  having  received  an  al  ndanl  supply 
of  arms  and  ammunition  from  Governor  Hamilton,  at  Detroit, 
Girty  liimsclf  was  armed  by  this  enliglitoncd  functionary  with 
full  power  to  grant  protection,  if  ho  saw  fit,  to  such  of  tho 
settlers  as  might  choose  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  Britisli 
crown,  and  was  furnished  by  tlie  governor  with  a  proclama- 
tion, under  his  own  hand,  guaranteeing  the  royi'  pardon  to 
every  rebel  who  would  accept  tho  boon  which  Girty  was  au- 
thorized to  offer.  The  savage  host,  numbering,  by  various  es- 
timates, from  three  liundred  and  eighty  to  five  hundred  war- 
riors, having  completed  every  preparation  for  their  campaign., 
left  tiie  Sandusky  upper  village,  and  took  up  their  line  of 
march  in  the  direction  of  Limestone,  in  Kentucky. 

"  Ignorant  and  cowardly,  as  many  represent  Girty  to  have 
been  on  the  field  of  battle,  he  certainly  possessed  a  degree  of 
cunning  when  not  in  the  immediate  presence  of  danger,  which 
served  to  keep  him  high  in  the  confidence  of  the  Indiana 
throughout  the  chief  part  of  his  military  career.  The  man- 
ner in  which  he  conduted  the  march  of  his  army  evinces  the 
high  order  of  his  sagacity,  and  the  craftiness  of  his  manage- 
ment; for,  althougli  Colonel  Shepherd  [at  Wheeling]  kept  con- 
stantly in  service  a  body  of  the  most  trusty  and  experienced 
scouts  that  ever  figured  in  border  warfare,  Girty  succeeded  in 
deceiving  them  as  to  the  point  of  his  destination,  and  actually 
brought  his  whole  force  before  the  walls  of  Fort  Henry  be- 
fore his  real  design  was  discovered." — American  Pioneer,  Vol. 
II,  p.  305. 

II. 

SIMON   OIKTY   AND   TllF.   ATTACK    ON    FORT    HKNRY,    1777. 

[From  Magazine  of  Americun  History,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  518.] 

"J.  E.  Cook,  in  his  Stories  of  the  Old  Dominion,  repeats 
the  old  story  that  Simon  Girty  led  the  Indians  in  their  attack 
on  Fort  Henry  in  September,  1777.  Where  and  when  this 
story  originated  I  have  never  been  able  to  ascertain.  With- 
ers, in  his  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare,  published  in  1831, 
asserts  it,  and  De  Hass,  in  his  History  of  Indian  Wars  in  West- 
ern Virginia,  repeats  it.     McKnight,  in  Our  Western  Border^ 


846  Hintory  of  the  Girfyn. 

contnulictfl  the  Htory,  hut  Hays :  '  It  must  have  heen  Gcorgo 
or  James  Girty  who  wore  living  among  the  savuges.'  Now 
the  fact  ia  not  one  of  the  Girtys  was  with  the  Indians  at  the 
time  of  tlicir  attack  on  Fort  Henry  in  September,  1777. 
There  is  no  hi^jtorical  fact  better  estahlishetl  than  the  dates  of 
the  (lesertion  of  Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty.  Thomas 
Girty  never  did  desert.  Col.  George  Morgan  was  Indian 
agent  for  the  Middle  Department  of  the  United  States  during 
the  Revolution,  with  his  Iiead(inarters  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  his 
Journal  proves  that  Simon  and  .James  Girty  were  employed 
by  him  as  Indian  Interpre't-rs ;  it  also  shows  that  on  the  28th 
of  March,  1778,  Simon  Girty  deserted  with  McKee  and  El- 
liott, and  that  at  that  tine  .Tames  was  on  a  message  to  the 
Shawanese  for  Colonel  Morgan,  ami  was  induced  to  desert  the 
cause  ot  his  country  and  attach  himself  to  the  interest  of  hia 
brother  Simon.  See  Ilildrcth's  Pioneer  History,  pp.  129-30. 
The  muster-roll  of  Capt.  James  Willing's  company  of  ma- 
rines, at  the  time  under  Gen.  George  llodgers  Clark,  now 
in  the  State  Archives  at  Ilarrisburg,  shows  that  George  Girty 
was  commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  in  said  company  on  the 
Gth  of  February,  1778,  and  that  he  deserted  May  4,  1779. 
See  Potter's  American  Monthly,  VII,  388.  There  is  other 
evidence,  but  this  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  none  of  the 
Girtys  could  have  led  the  attack  on  Fort  Henry  in  Septem- 
ber, 1779.  Isaac  Craw. 
"Alleuiiany,  Pa." 


H. 

SIMON   OIUTY'S    visit   TO    THE    SENECA     TOWNS     UP    THE     ALLE- 
GHANY,  IN   THE   FALL   OF   1777. 

[Ante,  p.  45.]  *.  ; 

*'  [Mentions'  James  Kelly  and  Thomas  Nicholson  going  with 
messages  to  the  Delawares.]  Simon  Girty,  another  messenger, 
who  was  also  sent  by  you  with  messages  to  the  Seneca  towns 
on  the  head  of  the  Alleghany,  returned  and  informed  me  that 
he  went  to  the  towns  without  meeting  any  Indians,  though,  by 


Appendix  H.  847 


the  tniirkH  of  the  warriors  on  tlio  roadH,  lie  could  discover  they 
had  been  at  war  :  that,  on  his  arrival  there,  he  acquainted 
them  with  the  success  of  our  army  at  the  northward,  and 
asked  them  if  they  had  not  heard  of  it.  They  replied  that 
they  had  not.  lie  then  told  them  that  they  might  depend  on 
it  for  truth,  and  desired  them  to  ait  still,  as  they  would  hoar 
it  in  a  few  days  from  their  own  people.  They  then  told  him 
they  looked  upon  him  as  a  spy,  and  that  they  would  take  him 
to  Niagara.  They  then  informed  him  that  all  the  Western 
Indians  had  taken  up  the  tomahawk  against  the  Americans, 
excepting  White  Eyes  and  a  few  Uelawares,  and  that  they 
would  he  ready  to  strike  in  the  spring. 

"He  then  learned  that  seven  parties  were  actually  out 
against  our  frontiers;  that  Gu-a-slio-tu  had  been  twice  at  war 
against  our  settlements;  that  he  killed  four  people  near  Ligo- 
nier;  that  the  White  Mingo  had  also  been  at  war;  that  the 
Flying  Crow  brought  in  a  white  woman,  daughter  of  Dudley 
Daugherty,  who  was  taken  ne.ir  Ligonier  whilst  he  was  there, 
and  some  scalps;  that  All-Face,  the  head  warrior,  was  out 
with  a  party  of  twenty-five  men.  That  the  evening  before 
they  were  to  set  off  ibr  Niagara,  he  pretentled  to  hunt  his 
horse,  and  after  going  out  he  returned  in  a  great  hurry,  say- 
ing he  saw  a  flock  of  turkeys  and  snatched  up  his  gun  and 
came  away.  That  in  the  night  he  came  to  onother  town  on 
the  river  where  he  got  a  canoe  and  came  by  water.  That  near 
the  Kittanning,  early  in  the  morning,  an  Indian  from  the 
shore,  hailed  him  and  asked  him  who  ho  was;  that  he  told  him 
his  name  was  a  chief's  name  whom  he  left  in  the  towns ;  that 
the  Indian  told  him  he  lied,  that  he  knew  him  to  be  Girty  and 
desired  him  to  come  to  shore ;  that  on  his  refusal  he  fired  sev- 
eral shots  at  him.  Girty  says  he  thiii^-s  they  will  wait  to  hear 
from  the  northward,  as  they  are  guided  by  a  chief  of  the  Sen- 
ecas  there ;  and  the  surrendering  of  Burgoyne's  army  will 
have  a  good  effect  upon  them." — Colonel  John  Gibson,  from 
Fort  Pitt,  to  General  Hand  (absent),  December  10,  1777. 


348  HiHtory  of  the  Girtys. 


I. 

THE    REASON  WHY    (iKNEUAT,    HAND    (?AVE    UP    HIS    INTENDED  EX- 
PEDITION   TO    FRENCH    CUEEK,    IN    THE    SPRING    OF    1778. 

[Ant>',  p.  (")!.] 

•'  Fort  Pitt,  March  30,  1878. 

"Dear  Craweoho  : — I  received  your  favor  of  yesterday 
and  am  sorry  for  the  accident  that  befell  Mr.  DeCanip,  and 
send  the  doctor  to  his  assistnnce. 

"  You  will  no  doubt  be  surprised  to  hear  that  Mr.  McKee, 
Matthew  Elliott,  Simon  Girty,  one  Surphilt  and  Hif:^gins,  with 
McKee's  two  negroes,  eloped  on  Saturday  night.  This  will 
make  it  improper  to  proceed  on  the  intended  expedition  to 
French  creek,  which  I  beg  you  may  give  the  proper  notice  of 
to  the  gentlemen  wlio  are  preparing  for  it ;  and  as  your  as- 
sistance may  be  necessary  towards  preventing  the  evils  that 
may  arise  from  the  information  of  these  I'unaways,  I  beg  you 
may  return  here  as  soon  as  possible. 

"I  am,  dear  Crawford,  sincerely  yours, 

"  Edw'd  Hand. 

"Col.  Wm.  Craweopd."' 


J. 

CONCERNING  CERTAIN  ORDERS  SAID  TO  HAVE  liEEN  GIVEN  IJY 
(iEN.  HALDIMAND  TO  LIEUTENANT-(iOVERNOn  HENRY  HAJi- 
ILTON    WHILE    AT    DETROIT. 

"  Hamilton  and  his  subordinates,  both  red  and  white,  were 
engaged  [in  1778]  in  what  was  essentially  an  effort  to  exter- 
minate the  borderers.  They  were  not  endeavoring  merely  to 
defeat  the  armed  bodies  of  the  enemy.  They  were  explicitly 
bidden  by  those  in  supreme  comniand  to  push  back  the  fron- 
tier, to  expel  the  settlers  from  the  country.  Hamilton  him- 
self had  been  ordered  by  his  immediate  officral  superior  to  as- 
eail  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  ^^'ith  his  sav- 


Appendix  J.  349 


ages,  to  destroy  the  crops  and  buildings  of  the  settlers  who 
had  advanced  beyond  the  mountains,  and  to  give  his  Indian 
allies, — the  "lurons,  Shawnccs,  and  other  tribes, — all  ihe  land 
of  which  they  thus  took  possession." — The  Winning  of  the 
West,  Vol.  II,  pages  5  and  6.  And  the  author  of  that  work 
cites,  in  support  of  what  he  writes,  Ilaldimand  to  Hamilton, 
August  G,  1778  :  Ilaldimand  MSS. 

I  find  nothing  in  the  orders  given  by  Ilaldimand  to  Hamil- 
ton which  authorizes  the  assertion  that  the  latter,  and  his  sub- 
ordinates,"  were  explicitly  bidden  .  .  .  to  push  back  the  fron- 
tier, to  expel  the  settlers  from  the  country ;"  nor  do  I  find 
that  Hamilton  had  been  ordered  "  to  assail  the  borders  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia  with  his  savages,  to  destroy  the  crops 
and  buildings  of  the  settlers  who  had  advanced  beyond  the 
mountains,  and  to  give  his  Indian  allies,  -the  Ilurons,  Shaw- 
nees,  and  other  tribes, — all  the  land  of  .  hicli  they  thus  took 
possession."  The  whole  matter  was  this :  On  the  25th  of 
April,  1778,  Hamilton  wroie  Carleton  that  the  Ilurons,  and 
those  at  Sandusky  (meaning  the  Detroit  and  Sandusky  Wyan- 
dots),  had  lately  told  him  that  thoy  expected  what  lands  they 
should  drive  the  rebels  (Americans)  from  would  be  vested  in 
them  by  right  of  conquest.  "  I  told  them,"  says  Hamilton, 
"  that  was  a  point  I  could  not  pretend  to  decide,  but  that  I 
should  write  to  your  Excellency,  and  [I  would]  inform  them 
what  answer  1  should  receive."" 

In  General  Ilaldimand's  ans\i  or,  he  says  that  it  would  "  be 
good  policy  to  give  the  savages  the  entire  property  of  all  lands 
they  should  conquer  from  the  rebels,  provided  they  make  such 
conquests  without  any  expense  to  his  Majesty  and  that  it  docs 
not  interfere  with  any  rights  or  claim  of  the  Five  Nations  or 
any  other  nation  of  Indians,  whom  it  is  our  business  to  keep 
united  as  much  as  possible,  not  to  lay  foundation  of  division 
amongst."  Now,  these  provisos  would  certainly  have  ren- 
dered wholly  null  any  offer  that  Hamilton  could  have  made ; 
besides,  when  he  received  the  order,  he  was  too  busy  in  pre- 
paring to  move  against  George  Rogers  Clark  in  the  Illinois,  to 
give  Ilaldimand's  answer  to  the  Wyandots.  Any  attempt,  there- 


35C  History  of  the  Girtys. 

fore,  or  part  of  Hamilton,  to  instigate  Indians  to  do  any  of 
the  acts  mentioned  by  Roosevelt  in  the  extract  just  given, 
against  "well  affected  and  inoffensive  inhabitants"  "upon 
the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,"  would  have  been 
in  excess  of  the  orders  given  him  by  his  superiors. 


K. 

KENTOX   AND    THE    MINGO    LOGAN. 
[Ante,  pp.  79-84.] 

In  speaking  of  Kenton  and  his  two  companions'  movements 
after  first  crossing  the  Ohio,  McDonald  says,  that  they  "  pro- 
ceeded cautiously  to  Cliillicothe."  That  this  was  the  Chilli- 
cothe  situated  on  the  Little  Miami,  in  the  present  county  of 
Greene,  Ohio,  is  certain  from  what  he  afterward  says :  "  From 
Chillicothe  to  Wapatomika  they  had  to  pass  through  two  other 
Indian  towns,  to  wit :  Pickaway  [Piqua]  and  Machecheek 
[Mac-a-cheek]."  But  this  would  not  have  been  the  case,  had 
he  been  at  the  other  Chillicothe — Old  Town — in  what  is  now 
Ross  county,  Ohio. 

McDonald's  account  of  Girty's  speech,  intei'ceding  the  second 
time  for  Kenton,  is  even  more  absurd  than  McClung's  recital  of 
his  first  speech.  "  He  told  them  that  he  had  lived  with  them 
several  years  ;  that  he  had  risked  his  life  in  tliat  time  more  fre- 
quently than  any  of  them  ;  that  they  all  knew  that  ho  had 
never  spared  the  life  of  any  one  of  the  hated  Americans  ; 
that  they  well  knew  that  he  had  never  asked  for  a  division  of 
the  spoils ;  that  he  fought  alone  for  the  destruction  of  their 
enemies." 

McDonald  declares  that  Logan  sent  his  young  men  to  tap- 
per Sandusky  with  a  message  to  Peter  Druyer ;  that  the  lat- 
ter, a  British  captaii.,  "  connected  with  the  British  Indian 
agent  department,  '  also  an  interpreter,  had  great  in^uence 
with  the  Indians ;  that  he  concluded  to  make  an  effort  to  save 
the  prisoner ;  and  finally  succeeded  by  their  consenting  to 
have  him  taken  by  the  captain  to  Detroit,  to  be  brought  back 


■'>1.';'' 


Appendix  L.  361 


to  Upper  Sandusky,  after  being  examined  by  the  commanding 
officer  at  the  former  phice.  Now,  if  this  be  true,  then  the 
honor  of  having  finally  saved  Kenton  from  the  stake  is  due 
jointly  to  Simon  Girty,  the  Mingo  Logan,  and  Peter  Druyer — 
by  no  means  to  Logan  alone.  Both  McDonjild  and  McClung 
say  that  Girty  induced  tlie  savages  to  send  the  prisoner  to 
Sandusky,  and  that  yj>on  the  return  of  the  runners  sent  by 
Logan  to  that  town,  he  (Logan)  gave  to  Kenton  no  informa- 
tion as  to  the  result  of  his  effort  in  his  behalf;  but  McClung 
says  that  "  from  Logan's  manner  he  [Kenton]  supposed  that 
his  intercession  had  been  unavailing,  and  that  Sandusky  was 
destined  to  be  the  scene  of  his  final  suffering.  This  appears 
to  have  been  the  truth."  The  weight  of  evidence  is,  there- 
fore, against  Logan  having  succeeded,  and  in  favor  of  Girty 
and  Druyer  being  the  only  persons  who  were  instrumental  in 
finally  saving  the  prisoner. 


lochuy's  defeat. 

[Ante,  pp.  129,  130.] 
I. 

ROOSEVKLT's    account— GKORGK  OIRTY    IGNORED. 

"  One  body  of  Ponnsylvanians  that  did  go  [to  join  Clark 
down  the  Ohio]  met  with  an  untoward  fate.  This  was  a  party 
of  a  hundred  Westmoreland  men  under  their  county  lieuten- 
ant. Col.  Archibald  Loughry.  They  started  down  the  Ohio 
in  flat-boats,  but  having  landed  on  a  sand-bar  tc  butcher  and 
cook  a  buffalo  that  they  had  killed,  they  were  surprised 
bv  an  equal  number  of  Indians  under  Joseph  Brant,  and 
being  huddled  together,  were  all  slain  or  captured  with  small 
loss  to  their  assailatits.  Many  of  the  prisoners,  including 
Loughry  himself,  were  afterward  murdered  in  cold  blood  by 
the  Indians."— The  Winning  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  117. 
[Roosevelt  gives  his  authorities.]  It  will  be  noticed  that 
George  Girty'o  name  is  not  mentioned.    But  see  the  following  : 


352  History  of  the ,  Girtyn. 


II. 

THK   OFFICIAL    KKPOUT   OF   CAPTAINS   MC  KKE   AND   THOMPSON. 

[From  Vermont  Historical  Society's  Collections,  Vol.  II,  pp.  342,  343.] 

"  Camp  neau  the  Ohio,  Angmt  29, 1781. 

"  Sir  : — The  26th  you  had  inclosed  an  account  that  Captain 
Brandt  and  George  Girty,  with  the  Indians,  advanced  upon  the 
Ohio,  [and]  had  taken  one  of  Clark's  boats  after  having  passed 
down  the  river  in  the  night.  Not  thinking  themselves  in  number 
sufficient  to  attack  him,  and  having  found  by  his  orders  to 
Major  Craigcroft  [Major  Charles  Cracraft]  that  mere  troops 
were  to  folloAv  under  the  command  of  a  Colonel  Lochry,  [they] 
lay  in  wait  for  them,  attacked  and  took  the  whole,  not  allow- 
ing one  tc  escape.  Agreeable  to  a  return,  it  appears  there 
have  been  thirty-seven  killed,  amongst  whom  is  Lochry,  their 
commandant,  with  some  officers. 

"  This  stroke,  with  desertions,  will  reduce  Clark's  army 
much,  and  if  the  Indians  had  followed  advice  and  been  here 
in  time,  it  is  more  than  probable  he  would  have  been  now  in 
our  possession  with  his  cannon. 

"  The  prisoners  seem  to  be  ignorant  of  what  his  intentions 
are.  Perhaps  loss  may  oblige  him  to  change  his  measures. 
However,  we  shall  endeavor  to  keep  the  Indians  together,  and 
watch  his  motions.  His  first  intention  was  to  penetrate  to  San- 
dusky through  the  Indian  country,  from  whence  the  troops 
from  Fort  Pitt  were  to  return  home  and  he  to  Kentucky. 

"We  are,  with  great  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and 

most  humble  se  I'vants, 

"A.  Thompson, 
"Alex'r  McKee. 
"  To  Major  DePeyster." 

[The  Vermont  Historical  Society  obtained  a  copy  of  the 
original  from  the  Haldimand  Papers.] 


)  :v   '  ,      ■  •    ■    , '      1 ' 


Aiypend'u-  M.  858 


M. 

WHY     THE     MORAVIAN     MIS.SIONAHY    ESTABLISHMENTS     ON    THE 
TUSCARAWAS  WERI    BROKEN    UP. 

[Ante,  p.  i;!S.] 

An  expedition  against  tiic  Virginia  l)order,  and  especially 
Fort  Henry  at  Wheeling,  had  been  determined  upon  at  San- 
dusky, with  the  approval  of  De  Peyster,  to  be  carried  on  un- 
der the  lead  of  Captain  Elliott,  by  a  considerable  war-party  of 
savages,  with  whom  was  to  inarch  a  small  number  of  English 
and  French.  Ileckewelder,  in  his  Narrative,  pp.  231,  232, 
says  the  expedition  was  intended  against  the  Christian  ("  Mo- 
ravian ")  Indians.  (See  also  Schweinitz'  Life  and  Times  of 
David  Zeisbei'ger,  pp.  480,  490.)  But  nothing  could  be  fur- 
ther from  the  truth.  On  the  18th  of  August,  1781,  Zeisberger 
dispatched  a  messenger  to  Colonel  Brodhead,  the  commander 
at  Fort  Pitt,  with  a  written  message  to  the  effect  that  a  large 
number  of  Indians — aoout  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  all — was 
approaching  the  settlements  with  the  intention,  probably,  of 
going  to  Wheeling,  but  they  might  attack  some  of  the  other 
posts.  "  They  will  try,"  said  he,  "  to  decoy  the  garrison  out 
where  they  will  lie  in  ambush."  "  The  party  is  headed,"  con- 
tinued the  missionary,  "  by  Matthew  Elliott  and  a  few  English 
and  French.  The  Indians  are  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Monseys, 
and  a  small  number  of  Shawanese."  "  You  will  be  careful," 
he  added,  "  not  to  mention  that  you  had  this  intelligence 
from  our  towns ;  for  it  would  prove  dangerous  for  us  if  the  In- 
dians should  get  knowledge  of  it ;  which  might  happen  by  a 
prisoner  if  they  should  take  one."  But  this  admonition  was 
unheeded. 

"  Last  evening  I  was  honored  with  your  obliging  letter," 
was  the  responee  of  Brodhead  to  the  missionary,  "  for  which 
be  pleased  to  accept  my  best  thanks.  We  shall  be  upon 
our  guard  and  give  the  wicked  a  warm  reception."  The  com- 
manding officer  at  Fort  Henry  (Wheeling)  was  soon  informed 

_      23      --    -- 


864  Hwfory  of  the  Girtyn. 

by  Brodlieatl  of  the  coming  of  the  enemy.  "You  will  imme- 
diately put  your  gai'iison  in  the  best  posture  of  defense,"  he 
wrote,  "  and  lay  in  as  great  quantity  of  water  as  circumstances 
will  admit,  and  receive  them  coolly.  Tliey  intend  to  decoy 
your  garrison,  but  you  are  to  guard  against  stratagem,  and  de- 
fend the  post  to  the  last  extremity."  "  You  must  not  fail," 
he  added,  "•  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  inhabitants  within  your 
reach,  and  make  it  as  general  as  possible,  in  order  that  every 
man  may  be  prepared  at  this  crisis."  Brodhead  also  sent  let- 
ters to  the  county  lieutenants  and  one  to  the  conimandjtnt  of 
Fort  Mcintosh,  with  information  of  the  threatCTied  attack. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  excitement  was  intense  all  along 
the  border.  Fort  Henry  was  immediately  placed  in  a  proper 
condition  for  defense.  The  borderers  every-where  put  them- 
selves in  readiness  to  meet  the  foo.  "  The  country  has  taken 
the  alarm,"  wrote  Brodhead,  "  and  several  hundred  men  are 
now  in  arms  upon  the  frontier."  It  was  not  long  before  the 
Indians  made  their  appearance,  as  was  expected,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Wheeling,  being  but  a  part,  however,  of  those  who 
were  at  the  "  Moravian"  Indian  towns.  Of  three  boys  outside 
of  Fort  Henry,  at  the  time,  one  was  killed,  and  one — David 
Glenn — was  made  prisoner.  The  other  effected  his  escape 
inside  the  fortification,  slightly  wounded.  In  a  moment,  the 
garrison  was  ready  to  receive  the  savages.  Tlie  latter,  seeing 
the  borderers  fully  prepared  for  tliera,  soon  disappeared,  doing 
but  little  mischief,  except  killing  all  the  cattle  they  could 
find.  Tlieir  depredations  up  Wheeling  and  Buffalo  creeks, 
however,  were,  before  they  re-crossed  the  Ohio,  much  more 
serious.     They  killed  and  captured  several  persons. 

The  intelligence  sent  by  Zeisberger,  the  Moravian  mission- 
ary, to  Brodhead  was  not  well  kept.  The  captured  boy,  Glenn, 
informed  the  savages  "  that  the  garrison  at  Wheeling  and  the 
country  in  general  were  alarmed  and  on  their  guard  ;  that 
they  had  been  notifi^^d  of  the  intention  of  the  Indians  by 
letters  sent  to  Pittsburgh  by  the  Moravian  ministers.  This 
exasperated  the  warriors  so  much  that  they  took  the  mission- 
aries prisoners,  tied  them,  and  destroyed  every  thing  they  had, 


Appendix  N.  855 


and  ordered  the  whole  of  the  Moravian  Indians  to  get  up  and 
move  off  with  their  families,  or  they  would  cut  them  all  oft", 
which  they  were  obliged  to  consent  to."  The  day  after  the 
arrest  of  the  ministers,  another  party  of  savages  returned 
fi'om  the  border  settlements  to  Gnadcnhiitten,  bringing  with 
them  as  prisoner  a  white  man  who  had  been  captured  some 
distance  from  Wheeling.  He  corroborated  the  story  of  the 
boy-prisoner  as  to  the  missionaries  having  sent  word  to  Fort 
Pitt  of  the  intentions  of  the  Indians. 

The  missionary  establishments  upon  the  Tuscarawas  were 
thus  broken  up,  news  of  which  was  brought  to  Fort  Pitt 
by  a  "  Moravian "  Indian  woman  who  made  her  escape  from 
the  warriors  and  came  into  that  place  on  the  7th  of  Septem- 
ber. (See  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  58-60, 
where  the  real  reason  for  the  breaking  up  of  these  missionary 
establishments  is  for  the  first  time  published.) 


N. 

SIMON    (ilRTY    AND    COLONEL    CKAWFORD    OX    THE    SANDUSKY. 
[Ante,  pp.  169,  170, 172-175,  179,  180,  183.] 

I. 

•    nil)   OIKiV    EXKKT    IIIMSKLF    TO    SAVB    ORAWKOKD? 

"  Simon  Girty,  Mho  had  been  a  prominent  leader  in  the 
conflict  [on  the  Sandusky  Plains],  and  who  witnessed  this  ter- 
rible scene  [of  torturing  Crawford],  had  known  Crawford  dur- 
ing the  Dunmore  war ;  had  often  enjoyed  his  hospitality,  and, 
tradition  says,  had  even  formed  a  romantic  attachment  for  his 
daughter.  It  is  therefore  easy  to  believe  that  the  blackest 
thing  that  has  ever  been  alleged  against  him  is  that  he  not 
only  did  not  save  the  tortured  and  slowly-dying  colonel,  but 
answered  him  with  a  mocking  laugh  when  he  begged  him  to 
shoot  him  and  relieve  him  of  his  agony.  It  is  said  that  even 
the  devil  is  not  as  black  as  he  is  painted,  and  it  is  possible 
that  the   same  may  be  said  of  Girty.     Exactly  how  far  his 


866  Jlhtury  of  the  Qirtys. 

savage  a.w\  perverted  nature  carried  him  on  this  occasion  will 
never  probably  be  accurately  known,  but  the  commonest  prin- 
ciples of  justice  require  that  some  things  that  are  known 
should  be  stated.  It  should  be  remembered  right  at  the  be- 
ginning that  Crawford  was  a  prisoner  of  the  Delawarcs,  and 
that  they  only  could  therefore  decide  his  fate;  and  that  he  was 
burnt  at  a  Delaware  town  and  in  retaliation  for  an  outrage 
upon  Delawarcs,  for  the  Moravians  ['  Moravian  '  Indians]  were 
of  that  tribe.  The  statement  printed  time  and  again  that  the 
ill-fated  colonel  was  burnt  by  Girty's  tribe,  the  AVyandots,  be- 
trays a  gross  ignorance,  both  of  the  transaction  itself,  and  of 
the  customs  peculiar  to  the  different  tribes  of  that  day.  The 
writer  was  not  surprised  therefore  that  a  Canadian  descendant 
of  Wyandot  Indians,  with  whom  he  corresponded,  should  en- 
ergetically })rotest  that  his  ancestral  tribe  did  not  at  that  time, 
if  ever,  burn  jjrisoners  of  war.  Regarded  simply  from  a 
tribal  stand- point,  Girty  had  no  authority  whatever  to  release 
Crawford.  As  to  the  influence  which  he  might  have  exerted 
in  favor  of  the  condemned  man,  that  is  another*  matter,  for  he 
was  certainly  a  person  of  no  little  power  and  importance 
among  the  Indians  at  that  time.  Dr.  Knight,  who  was  cap- 
tured with  Crawford  and  witnessed  his  tortures,  and  who  has 
long  been  accepted  as  a  most  reliable  authority  on  this  sub- 
ject, while  he  says  that  Girty  refused  the  prayer  of  the  tor- 
tured man  to  shoot  him  and,  'by  all  his  gestures  seemed  de- 
lighted at  the  horrid  scene,'  does  not  make  him  in  any  way 
an  assistant  at  it.  On  the  contrary,  he  even  asserts  that 
Crawford  said  to  him :  '  Girty  has  promised  to  do  all  in  his 
power  for  me,  but  the  Indians  are  very  much  inflamed  against 
us.'  An  examination  of  the  principal  authorities  on  this  sub- 
ject will  convince  any  unprejudiced  person  that  Girty  was 
true  to  his  promise  to  Crawford,  but  that  he  was  utterly  pow- 
erless to  save  him.  Heckewelder,  who  certainly  had  not  one 
spark  of  love  for  Girty,  anfl  whose  testimony  is  unimpeach- 
able, says  of  Crawford:  'It  was  not  in  the  power  of  any  man, 
or  even  body  of  men,  to  save  his  life.'  Wingeraund,  a  Dela- 
ware chief,  when  appealed  to  by  Crawford,  replied :  '  li  Will- 


Appendix  N.  357 


iamson  had  been  taken  you  might  liavo  been  saved,  but,  as  it 
is,  no  man  wouUl  dare  to  interfere  in  your  behalf;  the  King 
of  Enghmd,  if  lio  were  to  come  in  person,  could  not  save  you; 
we  have  to  learn  barbarities  from  you  white  people.'  (See 
Howe,  547.)  If  the  statements  of  the  savage  but  brave  and 
manly  Wyandots  are  to  be  believed,  Girty  did  not  forget  the 
sac-red  obligations  of  accepted  hospitality,  but  remembered 
old  ties  in  Crawford's  case  as  he  did  in  Kenton's.  McCutchen, 
who  claims  to  have  obtained  his  information  from  Wyandots, 
says,  in  the  Ajucrican  Pioneer,  that  Girty  tried  to  save  Craw- 
ford at  the  only  time  when  it  was  possible  to  do  it,  viz.,  the 
night  before  his  capture.  That  he  went  to  him  in  Indian 
dress,  and,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  warned  him  that  he  would  be 
surrounded  that  night,  and  told  him  how  he  might  escape; 
that  Crawford  tried  to  act  on  his  advice,  but  that  his  men 
were  too  much  demorafized  to  carry  out  the  plan.  After  say- 
ing this,  McCutcheon  strangely  adds  that  afterward,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  speculation,  Girty  offered  the  Delaware  war  chief.  Pipe, 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  Crawford,  but  was  himself 
threatened  with  the  stake  for  his  interference  ;  that  he  was 
afraid  after  that  to  show  the  sympathy  he  felt  for  the  doomed 
man,  but  sent  runners,  however,  to  the  Lower  Sandusky,  to 
traders  there,  to  hasten  to  buy  Crawford,  but  that  he  was 
fatally  burned  by  the  time  they  arrived.  The  latest  contribu- 
tion to  this  subject  is  from  the  venerable  Mrs.  McCormick,  of 
Pelee  Island,  now  in  her  ninety-sixth  year,  and  it  is  doubly 
interesting  from  the  fact  that  she  was  not  only  personally  ac- 
quainted with  Simon  Girty,  but  received  her  information  di- 
rectly from  her  mother-in-law,  who  was  captured  by  the  Ohio 
Indians  when  she  was  about  grown,  and  was  at  the  Delaware 
town  when  Crawford  was  burnt.  Mrs.  McCormick  kindly 
sent  the  writer  the  following  statement,  often  repeated  to  her  by 
her  mother-in-law,  in  recounting  the  incidents  of  her  captivity. 
She  says :  '  I  liave  often  heard  my  mother-in-law  speak  of 
Simon  Girty.  She  both  saw  and  heard  him  interceding  with 
the  Indian  chief  for  the  life  of  Colonel  Crawford,  and  he  of- 
fered the  chief  a  beautiful  horse  which  he  had  with  him,  and 


858  Hutory  of  the  Oirtyg. 


the  stock  of  goods  ho  then  had  on  hand,  if  he  wouM  release 
him,  but  the  chief  said  "No!  If  you  were  to  stand  in  liis 
phice  it  would  not  save  him."  She  also  went  to  see  Colonel 
Crawford,  and  talked  with  liim,  mid  ho  told  her  that  (tirty  had 
done  all  ho  could  to  save  his  life.'  This  was  no  Kenton  case. 
Crawford  had  invaded  the  Indian  country  with  the  declared 
intention  of  granting  no  (juarter,  and,  what  was  even  worse 
in  the  eyes  of  the  infuriated  savages,  his  intimate  associate 
and  right-hand  man  was  the  guilty  Williamson.  Crawford 
was  burnt  by  the  Delawares  in  retaliation  for  the  wanton  and 
cowardly  massacre  of  their  Moravian  kindred  ['  Moravian  ' 
Indians],  and  there  was  no  hope  for  him  from  the  moment  of 
his  capture.  Authorities  differ  as  to  the  motives  which  actu- 
ated Girty's  conduct  toward  Crawford,  but  close  inquiry  ren- 
ders positive  the  declaration  that  Girty  was  not  only  power- 
less to  save  him,  but  that  he  would  have  endangered  his  own 
life  if  he  had  persisted  in  an  open  effort  to  do  so." — Magazine 
of  American  History,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  204-26G. 

To  understand  fully  the  part  enacted  by  Simon  Girty  in 
connection  with  the  captivity  and  tortiiring  of  Colonel  Craw- 
ford, it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  one  fact,  which  no  his- 
torian can,  and  which  nothing  but  a  fiction  has  presumed,  to 
gainsay,  and  that  is,  that  the  two  met  for  the  first  time  on 
the  Sandusky  Plains  at  the  Half  King's  town  during  the  night 
of  the  tenth  of  June.  This  Girty  never  denied ;  on  the  con- 
+,rary,  he  stated  within  two  or  three  days  thereafter,  by  infer- 
ence, that  he  saw  him  there.  And  he  also  related  what  the 
colonel  said  to  him  (ante,  p.  183).  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  this  place  of  meeting  was  about  eight  miles  to  the  eastward 
of  the  spot  where  the  next  night  the  torturing  of  Crawford 
took  place.  Much  confusion  has  arisen  from  confounding 
this  first  meeting  with  the  second  one  between  them,  which 
last  was  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  and  near  Captain 
Pipe's  village  on  the  Tymochtee — a  difference  of  nearly  one 
day  in  time  and  of  nearly  eight  miles  in  distance.  As  to  the 
first  meeting,  the  writer  of  the  article  just  quoted  from  only 
gives  what  is  said  above  by  him — that  is,  he  relates  the  Mc- 


Appends  N.  869 


Cutclien  tradition  simply,  which  is  fiction  (imtc,  p.  .170). 
Crawford  did  not  meet  Girty  until  live  days  after  his  cap- 
ture. 

We  h;ive  already  given  the  facts  and  probabilities  concern- 
ing what  took  place  at  the  Half  King's  town — what  Girty 
promised  and  the  reasons  for  believing  that  ho  did  not  make 
good  his  promise  (ante,  pp.  IT-'J-IT")).  Nevertheless,  it  is  said 
in  the  foregoing  extract  that  "  an  examination  of  the  principal 
authorities  on  this  subject  will  convince  any  unprejudiced  per- 
son that  Girty  was  true  to  his  promise  [to  do  all  he  could  for 
Crawford]  but  that  he  was  utterly  powerless  to  save  him." 
Now,  the  trouble  with  this  is,  there  are  no  "  principal  authori- 
ties on  this  subject,"  except  Girty  himself,  in  what  he  told 
Captain  Caldwell,  and  he  is  silent  about  any  promise — silent 
at  a  time  when,  to  be  so,  is  equivalent  to  a  confession  that  he 
did  not  carry  out  what  he  promised  (ante,  p.  18;)).  What  i.s  said 
in  the  extract  above  about  lleckewelder  gives  not  the  slightest 
clue  to  any  supposed  effort  being  made  on  part  of  Girty.  As 
to  "  AVingemund's "  declaration  to  Crawford  that  "  no  man 
would  dure  to  interfere  in  your  [Crawford's]  behalf  " — that  is 
lleckewelder  speaking  and  not  the  Delaware  chief  (see  An 
Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  pp. 
542,  356-;561).  But,  if  "  Wingeraund  "  really  said  so,  and  it 
was  true,  what  becomes  of  the  oft  repea^^ed  assertion  of  Girty 
and  others,  made  in  after  years,  that  he  (Girty)  did  in  fact 
do  all  he  could  to  save  Crawford?  Thiin  much  of  the  first 
meeting.  Let  us  now  examine  what  is  said  as  to  the  second 
one. 

"  Exactly  how  far,"  says  the  foregoing  extract,  "■  his 
[Girty's]  savage  and  perverted  nature  carried  him  on  this 
occasion  [the  torturing  of  Crawford]  will  never  probably  be 
accurately  known."  But  it  is  suggested  that  Dr.  Knight's 
relation  of  what  he  saw  and  heard  of  the  renegade  upon  that 
occasion  makes  it  extremely  clear  just  "  how  far  his  savage 
and  perverted  nature  carried  him."  As  to  "  the  latest  contri- 
bution to  this  subject "  "  from  the  venerable  Mrs.  McCormick," 
vrho  got  her  information   from  her  mother-in-law,  it  may  be 


360  Htsfory  of  the  Girtys. 


said  that  doubtless  the  aged  lady  first  mentioned,  recited  what 
she  remembered,  as  nearly  as  she  could,  of  the  conversation 
of  another  person  who  "  was  at  the  Delaware  town  when 
Crawford  was  burnt."  This  second-handed  tradition  impeaches 
itself,  as  already  shown  (ante,  p.  175)  ;  besides,  is  it  to  be 
presumed  that  she  (the  mother-in-law)  "  went  to  see  Colonel 
Crawford,  and  talked  with  him,  and  he  told  her  that  Girty 
had  done  all  lie  could  to  save  his  life" — in  view  of  what  is  re- 

■ 

lated  by  Dr.  Knight  as  to  Girty's  behavior?  It  could  not 
have  been  so.  "  This,"  it  is  said  in  the  extract  above  "  was 
no,  Kenton  case.  Crawford  had  invaded  the  Indian  country 
with  the  declared  intention  of  granting  no  quarter."  Surely 
nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  fact  than  this  (see  An  His- 
torical Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  p.  158, 
note).  "And  what  was  even  worse  in  the  eyes  of  the  infuriated 
savages,"  continues  the  extract,  "  his  [Crawford's]  intimate 
associate  and  right  hand  man  was  the  guilty  Williamson." 
But  it  is  morally  certain  that  neither  Captain  Pipe  noi  Winge- 
nund  nor  any  of  the  residue  of  the  Delawares  knew,  at  the 
time  of  the  torture,  either  that  Williamson  led  the  militia  to 
Gnadenhiitten  or  that  he  was  along  with  Crawford.  The  ex- 
tract, it  will  be  seen,  also  avers  that  "  authorities  differ  as  to 
the  motives  which  actuated  Girty's  conduct  toward  Crawford 
[at  the  burning]."  This  is  to  be  taken  with  a  good  deal  of  al- 
lowance. Only  one  writer  (Lyman  C.  Draper)  is  reported  as 
having  ascribed  any  "  motives  "  at  all  to  Girty's  conduct,  and 
he  evidently  volunteers  to  give  what,  in  his  (Draper's)  mind 
seems  likely,  without  having  any  evidence  to  support  it. 

II. 

8IM0N  GiaXV   TO   COLONEL   CRAWKORD   AT  THE  BTAKK. 

[Thf  following,  by  Frank  Cowan  (see  Southwestern  Penn8,'-'-r<ini8  in  Song 
and  Story,  pp.  93-100),  is  inserted  as  a  cutiasit^.^ 

You  say  I  am  accursed.     I  am  accursed. 
Of  all  tiie  damned  on  earth,  1  am  the  worst. 

And  it  is  well  I  am,  that  you  receive 
Your  just  deserts  which  only  I  can  give. 


Appendix  iV.  361 


Compared  with  me,  the  Delaware  is  tame — 
A  suckling  wolf— a  savage  but  in  name. 

The  great  is  grown  alone  within  the  great; 
A  Girty  can  alone  the  White  create. 

The  Delaware  had  killed  you  at  a  blow;     ■■ 
But  I  despise  his  mercy — and  am  slow  I     ' 

Speed  seldom  makes  a  single  wise  reflection, 
"While  Haste  is  very  careless  in  .selection. 

You  are  within  youri  M'  a  brother  man, 
Or  good  or  bad,  as  but  a  brother  can. 

But  in  this  pastime  you  will  play  the  Good, 
And  I  the  Evil,  of  the  White  Man's  blood. 

You,  naked  as  at  birth,  bound  with  a  thona;, 
Will  symbolize  the  Right  enthralled  by  Wrong. 

While  I,  in  savage  guise,  will  play  my  part. 
The  unseen  Savage  of  the  White  Man's  heart. 

Nay,  friend ;  your  role  is  easy — While  I  speak, 
'Tis  but  to  writhe  in  pain  about  a  stake. 

Your  face  is  blacked,  with  that  of  others  here, 
That  in  your  fate  your  own  may  now  appear. 

Behold  I  the  tomahawk  sinks  in  the  brain 
Of  all  so  marked — The  inference  is  plaih. 

Nay,  shudder  not  and  shriek.    All  men  must  die. 
You  are  not  an  exception — nor  am  I. 

But  you,  the  chieftain  of  these  slaui^htered  men, 
Are  blessed  above  them  all — in  knowing  when. 

That  in  anticipation  you  may  feel, 

A  thousand  times,  the  keen-edged  butchering  stepl. 

What  I  groan  beneath  the  blows,  of  feeble  squaws 
And  feebler  children,  with  their  scourge  of  straws! 

It  is  my  care  and  kindness  that  the  small 
Be  given  first  that  you  endure — the  all  I 

Besides,  these  squaws  and  children  will  remind 
You  of  your  wife  and  children  left  behind — 

To  look  for  your  return — to  mope  and  muse — 
And  mourn  your  death  with  every  breath  of  news.. 


■862  History  of  the  Girtya. 

Until,  port'bnnce,  the  midnight  axe  descend — 
Of  widow's  wail  and  orphan's  woe,  an  end ! 

Until,  perchance,  the  Gnadonhiltten  Maul 
Tires  not,  till  it  has  crushed  the  skulls  of  all. 

Nay,  shudder  not  and  fall  upon  your  knees — 
I'll  change  the  subject,  since  it  does  not  please. 

Behold  the  stake!  and  this  rope  round  the  post, 
/    ■■        To  keep  you  in  position — while  you  roast. 

And  these  encircling  faggot?,  as  you  turn. 

To  roast  you  through  »»''""'»>'8'' — before  you  burn. 

Yea;  Simon  Girty  has  pronounced  your  doom; 
The  ashes  of  this  wood  shall  be  your  tomb  ! 

Win-gay-nund?     Yea  ;""=  chief ""  cat  y»"  bread — 
Beg  him  to  save  yoi:r  life?     He  shakes  his  head  I 

Now,  while  the  squaws  and  children  fire  the  wood. 
Consider  what  the  Pipe  speaks  to  his  brood. 

And  since  the  Redman's  tongue  you  cannot  hear, 
And  understand,  I'll  be  to  you  an  ear. 


"  Upon  this  man,  the  chieftain  of  our  foes, 
Let  each  and  all  of  us  avenge  our  woes. 

"  For  all  the  wrongs  to  us  the  Whites  have  done. 
Let  now  their  cbiefiain  in  himself  atone. 

"  For  he  is  as  an  army,  though  but  one— 
As  to  the  stars  at  noonday,  is  the  sun. 

"  All  cast  in  him,  by  the  Great  Manito, 
That  we  may  kill  an  army  at  a  blow. 

"  All  cast  in  him  by  the  Great  Spirit  of  Good, 
That  we  may  drink  at  once  an  army's  blood ! 

"  That  each  and  all  of  us  may  say, '  My  knife 
Has  taken  a  great  English  army's  life  ! 

'"  Behold  this  un  wiped  stain  upon  tbvi  blade — 
This  Colonel  UrawforU's  ebbing  life's  blood  made 

"  Then  let  an  Hrmy  e'er  invade  our  land, 
Alone,  each  one  of  us,  may  trake  a  stand. 


Appendix  N.  363 


"  For  we  are  each  an  army  in  the  wood. 
When  we  have  each  drank  of  iin  army's  l)lood. 

"Strike,  one  •"*  all,  then,  «"i'  the  knife-blado's  tip, 
That  all  alike  may  in  the  warm  blood  dip! 

"That  all  may  kill  in  all — not  all  in  one;  .;  ■: 

And  he  an  army's  death  die,  though  alone. 

"That  all  may  kill  in  all — not  nil  for  one; 
That  he  atono  for  all  the  Whites  have  done. 

"  Glut,  glut  •"""  vengeance,  now !  Strike,  ™"  •"•*  all  I 
Remember  Gnadenhiitten's  murderous  Maul  I    , 

"  The  White  Man's  army's  '"  ""  Redman's  gripe — 
Obey  the  words  of  the  avenging  Pipe  !  " 


What !  cut  •""•  gnashed  »"''  slashed  from  lop  to  toe  I 
Well,  do  not  moan — I  said,  it  would  be  so. 

Yea ;  I  am  Eure;  for  I  was  filled  with  fear, 

Lest  when  your  ears  were  off,  you  might  not  hear. 

And  now — Yea,  there  is  nothing  half  so  good 
As  a  live  coal  for  quickly  staunching  blood. 

What,  6;roan  again  ?  Why,  man,  your  flosh  is  hard, 
And  callous  to  the  brand,  it  is  so  charred. 

I  doubt  if '»"  could  feel— (Yea,  fire  !)— the  wad 
Of  any  musket  here,  at  half  a  rod. 

(Go  on — gc  on — go  on  I  He'll  stand  a  score 
Of  pops  like  those,  and  still  cry  out  for  more! ) 

Wh&t,  shoot y»"  *«"'«'"*»  heart,  I?— Simon  Girty? 
To  think  that  I  could  do  an  act  so  dirty ! 

Ob,  no!  Besides,  you  see,  I  have  no  gun  ; 
And  could  not,  if  I  would,  stop  this  'are  fun ! 

But  since  you  beg  me  still  to  take  a  part. 

With  words,  ■>•'  wade,  I'll  shoot  y"  """"s''  the  heart! 

Nay,  sink  not  to  the  ground  upon  your  knees, 
To  raise  the  ashes  but  to  make  you  snee/.e. 

And  call  not  on  your  God  to  do  what  I — 
The  devil — would  not  do  to  make  you  die ! 


864  History  of  the  Girtys. 

The  sky  is  cleur — You  iieod  not  look  for  rain  :     '       ' 
And  for  the  thunderbolt,  you  pray  in  vuin  I 

Nay,  couritgo,  friond ;  this  fainting  is  not  death; 
The  gases  of  the  coals  but  take  your  breath. 

(Quick !  "'"'  the  scalping-knifo,  •"''  bare  his  skull  I 
Before  his  chest  with  the  foul  gas  is  full  I ) 

Why,  man,  J""  are  ""' dead  I  Stand  up  !  there!  hoi 
And  walk  around  your  stake — there!  steady  I  sol 

But  how  you  bleed  I  (C^uiok!  with  a  cap  of  lire. 
And  clap  it  on  his  head,  ere  he  expire! ) 

Hurrah  I  that  jump  is  worth  a  thousand  groans 
And  that  sharp  shriek  a  myriad  of  moans  I 

But  why — why  do  you  stand  and  stare  at  me, 
As  if  you  knew  me  not — in  mockery? 

I'm  sure,  I  have  not  changed  from  worse  to  worst, 
'■  .  :  Since  we  began  ;  for  I  set  out  accursed. 

But  f'"  are  changed  '"i""!"" — y»ur  features  marred^— 
A  scorched  skull  staring  on  a  corpse  half  charred  I 

Still,  you  are  William  Crawford,  Esquire,  Judge, 
Or  Colonel,  as  they  style  you,  while  you  budge. 

But  sink  not  to  the  earth  again,  my  friend, 
Lest  to  this  conference,  there  be  an  end. 

Nay,  close  your  eyes  not  1  See  me  kneel  again, 
Before  your  daughter's  feet,  and  kneel  in  vain! 

Nay,  close  your  ears  not!  'Tear  my  vow  once  more, 
And  her  refusal  as  in  days  of  yore ! 

Oh,  close  your  eyes  not,  till  you  see  me  spurned. 
And  from  your  cabin  like  a  leper  turned! 

Oh,  close  your  ears  not,  till  you  hear  again 

Your  curse  that  maddened  then  as  now  my  brain! 

I  loved y""' daughter — Mark! — till  I  *"  driven 
From  her — '"'"  earth — •"*  every  hope  of  heaven  I 

I  love  your  daughter  still,  though  I,  accursed, 
Am,  of  th«j  faendii  of  !iell,  the  first  and  worst! 

I  love  your  daughter,  Sarah  Crawford,  still ; 
And,  at  her  name,  my  vengeance  can  not  kill  t 


Appendix  N.  >  355 


Spoaklspeak!  Iler  hand's  within  your  own  Hgain,  " 

:  ,     '  Fur  Hnrrigon  is  numbered  with  the  alain. 

Speak!  speak!  Her  hand  !  And  you  shall  live! 
Spuak!  spenkl  before  it  is  too  lato  to  give! 

To  late  to Hold!  Save.  Girty,  save  thy  breath; 

For  Crawford's  ears  are  closed  for  aye  in  death  ! 

Great  God,  I  curse  thee,  and  thy  love  I  loatl), 
For  Thou'st  denied  my  prayer  and  kept  my  uath  1 

Thou  hast  denied  my  love,  and,  when  too  late, 
Fulfilled  my  vow  of  vengeance  and  of  hate! 

In  ">'"  black,  ugly  thing! — "''"steaming  flesh! — 
■    ,  This  sickening  stench  !—"■'»  """"Wifi"*  shapeless  ash  I        '. 

This  act— to  live  within  the  brain  of  Man, 
Till  he  hath  made  an  end  wheru  he  began. 

-■'■'••■  "^v  '■-:■■  ■^-.-  III.  '.:■■'■    ■ :  ':  >:,■-■■ 

CAPTAIN    KLLIOTT's    KNDEAV0R8   TO   HAVE   TUB   I.IKK   OF   CKAWKOKD. 

[Ante,  p.  183.]        v   . 

"  Detroit,  July  18, 1782. 

"  Sir  : — I  am  liappy  to  inform  you  that  the  Indians  from 
this  quarter  have  gained  a  complete  victory  over  six  hundred 
of  the  enemy  w'lo  had  penetrated  as  far  is  Sandusky,  with  a 
view  of  destroying  the  Wyandots,  men,  women,  and  children, 
as  they  had  done  with  ninety-six  of  the  Christian  Indians  at 
Muskingum  [Tuscarawas]  a  few  weeks  before. 

"  The  affair  of  Sandusky  happened  on  the  4th  of  June, 
when  the  enemy  left  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  the  field ;  and 
it  is  believed  that  few  of  the   remainder  escaped  to  Wheeling. 

"  Their  major,  [John]  McClelland,  and  most  of  the  officers 
were  killed  in  the  action.  Colonel  Crawford,  who  commanded, 
was  taken  in  the  pursuit  and  put  to  death  by  the  Delawares, 
notwithstanding  every  means  had  been  tried  by  an  Indian 
officer  [Captain  Matthew  Elliott]  present,  to  save  his  life. 
This  the  Delawares  declare  they  did  in  retaliation  for  the  af- 
fair of  Muskingum  [the  '  Gnaddenhiitten  affair.']. 

"  I  am  sorry  ihat  the  imprudence  of  the  enemy  has  been 
the  means  of  reviving  the  old  savage  custom  of  putting  their 


366  History  of  the  Oirtys. 


prisoners  to  death,  whicli,  with  much  pains  and  expense,  we 
had  weaned  tlie  Indians  from,  in  tliis  neighborhood. 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  all  is  well  in 
Canada  and  that  we  arc  too  well  fortified  here  to  fear  any  at- 
tempts from  the  enemy.  The  Western  Indians  are  most  firmly 
united  in  the  interest  of  his  Brittannic  Majesty  against  all 
his  enemies.     .     .     .  A"t  S.  De  Peyster. 

"  Tiios.  Biiowx,  Sup't  Indian  Affairs." 

"  Dr.  Knight,  u  surgeon  I  sent  with  Colonel  Crawford," 
wrote  General  Irvine  to  Washington,  from  Fort  Pitt,  on  the 
11th  of  July,  1782,  "  returned  the  4th  instant  to  this  place. 
He  brings  an  account  of  the  melancholy  fate  of  poor  Craw- 
ford. The  day  after  the  main  body  retreated,  the  colonel, 
doctor,  and  nine  others,  were  overtaken,  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  field  of  action,  by  a  body  of  Indians,  to  whom  they 
surrendered.  They  were  taken  back  to  Sandusky,  where  they 
all,  except  the  doctor,  were  put  to  death.  The  unfortunate 
colonel,  in  particular,  was  burned  and  tortured  in  every  man- 
ner they  could  invent. 

"  The  doctor,  after  being  a  spectat  •:  of  this  distressing 
scene,  was  sent,  under  guard  of  one  Ini'ian,  to  the  Shawanese 
town,  where  he  was  told  he  would  ^jliaro  the  same  fate  the 
next  day ;  but  fortunately  found  an  opportunity  of  demolish- 
ing the  fellow,  and  making  his  escape.  The  doctor  adds,  that 
a  certain  Simon  Girty,  who  was  formerly  in  our  service,  and 
deserted  with  McKee,  and  is  now  said  to  have  a  commission 
in  the  British  service,  was  present  at  torturing  Colonel  Craw- 
ford, and  that  he,  the  doctor,  was  informed  by  an  Indian,  that 
a  British  captain  commands  at  Sandusky;  that  he  believes  he 
was  present,  also,  but  is  not  certain  ;  but  says  he  saw  a  per- 
son there  [Captain  Elliott]  who  was  dressed  and  who  appeared 
like  a  British  officer.  He  also  says  the  colonel  begged  of 
Girty  to  shoot  him  [Crawford],  but  he  paid  no  regard  to  the 
request.  .  .  ,  Dr.  Knight  is  a  man  of  undoubted  ve- 
racity."— Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  pp.  126, 127. 

"  The  character  of  Dr.  Knight  is  well  known  to  be  that  of  a 


Appendix  N.  867 


good  man,  of  strict  veracity,  and  of  a  calm  and  deliberate 
mind,  and  using  no  exaggeration  in  his  account  of  any  mat- 
ter."— H.  H.  Brackenridge,  1782,  in  the  Knight  and  Slover 
Narrative.     (See  letter  of  Brackenridge  on  next  page.) 

IV. 

DR.   JOHN     knight's   ACCOVNT    OK    WHAT    HE    SAW    AND     HKAKP    OK    HIMON 

OIKTY. 

[Ante,  pp.  177,  178,  180,  181.] 

As  Di.  Knight  and  John  Slover  were  the  only  ones  of  all 
the  captured  of  Crawford's  army  who  escaped  from  the  sav- 
ages, and  immediately  returned  to  the  border,  their  recital  of 
what  they  saw  and  suffered  made  at  once  a  deep  impression 
throughout  the  Trans-AUcghany  settlements.  Their  Narra- 
tives were  published  together  in  a  pamphlet  already  cited,  en- 
titled, "Narratives  of  a  late  Expedition  against  the  Indians; 
with  an  Account  of  the  Barbarous  Execution  of  Col.  Craw- 
ford ;  and  the  Wonderful  Escape  of  Dr.  Knight  and  John 
Slover  from  Captivity,  in  1782.  Philadelphia:  Printed  by 
Francis  Bailey,  in  Market  street.  M,DCC,LXXIII."  An  X, 
in  the  date,  is  accidentally  omitted.  Copies  of  the  original 
edition  of  this  work  are  exceedingly  rare.  Subsequent  but 
imperfect  editions  have  been  published  from  time  to  time. 
The  Narratives  have  also«been  printed,  with  more  or  less  va- 
riations iVom  the  first  one  published,  in  several  border  histories. 

In  the  original  pamphlet  is  the  following  address  by  the 
publisher — Francis  Bailey,  printer  of  the  Freeman's  Journal, 
in  Philadelphia : 

"  To  the  Public  :  The  two  following  Narratives  [Knight's 
and  Slover's]  were  transmitted  for  publication,  in  September 
last  [1782];  but  shortly  afterwards  the  letters  from  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  to  his  Excellency,  General  Washington,  informing 
that  the  savages  had  received  orders  to  desist  from  their  in- 
cursions, gave  reason  to  hope  that  there  would  be  an  end  to 
their  barbarities.  For  this  reason,  it  was  not  though*^  neces- 
sary to  hold  up  to  view  what  they  had  heretofore  done.  But 
as  they  still  continue  their  murders  on  our  frontier,  these 
Narratives  may  be  serviceable  to  induce  our  government  to- 


368  Hitstory  of  the  Girty*. 

take  somo  effectual  stepa  to  chastise  and  supprubs  them ;  as 
from  hence,  they  '■  11.  see  tliat  the  nature  of  an  Indian  is  fierce 
and  cruel,  and  that  an  extirpation  of  them  would  be  useful  to 
the  world,  and  ho!.orab1e  to  those  who  can  effect  it." 
Immediately  following  the  address  is  this  letter: 
"  Mr.  Bailky  :  Enclosed  are  two  Narratives,  one  of  Dr. 
Knight,  who  acted  as  Surgeon  in  the  expedition  under  Col. 
Crawford,  the  other  of  John  Slovcr.  That  of  Dr.  Knight  was 
written  by  himself  at  my  request;  that  of  Slover  was  taken 
by  myself  from  his  mouth  as  he  related  it.  This  man,  from 
his  childhood,  lived  amongst  the  Indians ;  though  perfectly 
St.  '  ^e  and  intelligent,  yet  he  can  not  write.  The  character 
of  b.  Knight  is  well  known  to  be  that  of  a  good  man,  of 
strict  veracity,  of  a  calm  and  di-liberate  mind,  and  using  no 
exaggeration  in  his  account  of  any  matter.  As  a  testimony 
in  favor  of  the  veracity  of  Slover,  I  thought  proper  to  pro- 
cure p  certificate  from  the  clergyman  to  whose  church  he  be- 
longs, and  which  I  give  below. 

"  These  Narratives  you  will  please  publish  in  your  useful 
paper,  or  in  any  other  way  you  may  judge  proper.  I  con- 
ceive the  publication  of  them  may  answer  a  good  end,  in 
showing  America  what  have  been  the  sufferings  of  some  of 
her  citizens  by  the  hands  of  the  Indian  allies  of  Britain.  To 
these  Narratives,  I  have  subjoined  some  Observations  which 
you  may  publish  or  omit,  as  it  may  be  convenient. 

"  H.  [H  J  BRACKEyiilDQE. 

«  Pittsburgh,  Aug.  3, 1782." 

[Certificate  of  the  Clergyman.] 
*'  I  do  hereby  certify  that  John  Slover  has  been  for  many 
years  a  regular  member  of  the  church  under  my  care,  and  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  credit.  William  Reno." 

[An  Episcopalian.] 

Brackenridge,  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  Nar- 
ratives of  Knight  and  Slover,  was  an  eminent  lawyer  and  au- 
thor of  Pittsburgh,  from  1781  until  his  death  in  1816.     The 


Appendix  N.  8»)9 


last  fifteen  years  of  his  life,  ho  wiis  one  of  the  judges  of  tho 
Supremo  Court  of  Pennsylviinia.  lie  was  noted  for  his  talents, 
learning,  and  eccentricity.  Ho  was  tho  author  of  "  Modern 
Chivalry,"  "  Inciuents  of  tho  AVhisky  Insurrection,"  and  other 
works.  Tho  "Observations"  ho  speaks  of,  in  hiw letter  to  Mr. 
Bailey,  wsro  printed  by  the  latter,  witli  the  Narratives  of 
Knight  and  Slovor.  They  are,  as  the  writer  quaintly  calls 
them,  "Observations  with  regard  to  the  animals,  vulgarly 
styled  Indians."  Tin  y  contain,  however,  nothing  in  relation 
to  tho  expedition  against  Sandusky.  lie  also  wrote  "A  Short 
Memoir  of  Col.  Crawford,"  which  was  sent  by  him  at  the 
same  time  of  tho  transmission  of  tho  Narratives,  and  printed 
along  with  them.  A  "  Memoir  of  John  Slovor,"  to  bo  found 
in  some  of  tho  subsequent  editions  of  tho  pamphlet,  is  not 
in  tho  original  edition. 

The  Narrative  of  Knight,  up  to  the  commoncomont  of  tho 
retreat  of  the  army,  contains  little  that  is  not  suppliablo  from 
other  sources ;  after  that  event,  however,  his  account  of  what 
he  saw  and  suffered,  is  exceedingly  valuable  and  complete. 
Ho  throws  no  light,  of  course,  upon  the  retreat  of  tho  army ; 
neither  does  Slover.  Both  Narratives,  it  will  be  noticed,  were 
written  immediately  after  the  return  of  these  men  from  cap- 
tivity. There  was  no  printing  done  in  Pittsburgh  until  the 
establishment  and  issuing  of  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  in  July, 
1786 ;  hence,  the  publicat'on  of  the  pamphlet  in  Philadel- 
phia. 

All  the  statements  have  been  examined  that  could  be  found 
made  by  Knight  and  Slover  after  their  return  not  contained 
in  their  printed  Narratives.  Most  of  these  are  either  in  man- 
uscript OD  in  the  Philadelphia  newspapers  of  1782,  furnished 
by  Western  correspondents.  From  these  sources,  a  few  addi- 
tional items  have  been  obtained,  all  corroborative,  however, 
of  tho  pamphlet.  Subsequent  relations  of  deserters  and 
of  the  savages  themselves  fully  substantiate  its  authenticity 
and  correctness.  "After  a  treaty  or  temporary  peace  had 
taken  place,  saw  traders  who  had  been  with  the  Indians 
24 


870  JIiHtory  of  the  Oirlys. 


nt  Snndusky  nnil  lind  the  same  nccount  from  tlic  suvn^cs  thcm- 
8elvo8  which  Knight  gave  of  his  esciipe.  Tlie  Indians  con- 
firincd  the  rehition  of  Sh)ver  in  all  particulars,  save  as  to  the 
circumstunces  of  liis  escape,  which  thoy  said  was  with  the  as- 
Bistance  of  the  squaws." — II.  11.  Brackenridgo,  in  Loudon's 
Indian  Wars,  Vol.  I,  pp.  viii,  ix. 

Many  incidents  arc  mentioned  in  both  the  American  and 
British  official  correspondence  concerning  Crawford's  expedi- 
tion, identical  with  those  to  be  found  in  the  Narratives  just 
mentioned.  Besides,  there  are  numerous  statements  extant 
of  those  who  marched  from  the  border  into  the  wilderness 
upon  that  campaign,  all  substantiating,  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent, the  publislied  relations  of  these  two  men.  There  is  not, 
therefore,  the  slightest  reason  to  doubt  Dr.  Knight's  state- 
ments concerning  the  words  and  actions  of  Simon  Girty  at 
and  before  tho  terrible  scene  of  Colonel  Crawford's  torture. 

The  relation  of  Dr.  Knight,  so  far  as  Girty  is  concerned,  is, 
in  the  original  publication,  as  follows: 

"  Monday  morning,  the  10th  of  June,  we  were  paraded  to 
march  to  Sandusky,  about  thirty-three  miles  distant;  they  had 
eleven  prisoners  of  us  and  four  scalps,  the  Indians  being  sev- 
enteen in  number. 

"Col.  Crawford  was  very  desirous  to  see  a  certain  Simon 
Girty,  who  lived  with  the  Indians,  and  was  on  this  account 
permitted  to  go  to  town  the  same  night,  with  two  warriors  to 
guard  him,  having  orders  at  the  same  time  to  pass  by  the 
place  where  the  Col.  had  turned  but  his  h^rsc,  that  they  might 
if  possible,  find  him.  The  rest  of  us  were  taken  as  far  as  the 
old  town  which  was  within  eight  miles  of  the  new. 

"  Tuesday  morning,  the  eleventh.  Col.  Crawford  was  brought 
out  to  us  on  purpose  to  be  marched  in  with  the  other 
prisoners.  I  asked  the  Col.  if  he  had  seen  Girty  ?  He 
told  me  he  had,  and  that  Girty  had  promised  to  do  every 
thing  in  his  power  for  him,  but  that  the  Indians  were  very 
much  enraged  against  the  prisoners ;  particularly  Captain 
Pipe  one  of  the  chiefs;  he  likewise  told  me  that  Girty 
had  informed  him  that  his  son-in-law  Col.  Harrison  and  his 


Apptndix  N.  871 


nophow  William  Crawford,  were  made  prisoners  by  the  Siiaw- 
ancse  but  luid  been  pardoned.     .     .     . 

"We  were  then  eonducted  along  toward  the  place  whero 
the  Col.  was  afterward  executed;  when  we  civnio  within  about 
half  a  mile  of  it,  Simon  Oirty  met  us,  with  uoveral  Indians  on 
horseback ;  ho  spoke  to  the  Col.,  but  as  I  was  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  behind  could  not  hear  what  passed 
between  them. 

"Almost  every  Indian  we  met  struck  us  either  with  sticks 
or  their  fists.  Girty  waited  until  I  was  brougiit  up  and  asked, 
was  that  the  Doctor? — I  told  him  yes,  and  went  toward  him 
reaching  out  my  hand,  but  he  bid  me  begone  and  called  me  a 
damned  rascal,  upon  which  the  fellows  who  had  me  in  charge 
pulled  me  along.  Girty  rode  up  after  me  and  t^ld  me  I  was 
to  go  to  the  Shawaneso  towns. 

"  When  we  were  come  to  the  fire  the  Colonel  was  strip- 
ped naked,  ordered  to  sit  down  by  the  fire  and  then  they  beat 
him  with  sticks  and  their  fists.  Presently  after  I  was  treated 
in  the  same  manner.  They  then  tied  a  rope  to  the  foot  of  a 
post  about  fifteen  feet  high,  bound  the  Colonel's  hands  behind 
his  back  and  fastened  the  rope  to  the  ligature  between  his 
wrists.  The  rope  was  long  enough  for  him  to  sit  down  or 
walk  round  the  post  once  or  twice  and  return  the  same  way. 
The  Colonel  then  called  to  Girty  and  asked  if  they  intended 
to  burn  him  ? — Girty  answered,  yes.  The  Colonel  said  he 
would  take  it  all  patiently. 

[Then  follows  the  Doctor's  account  of  the  Colonel's  suffer- 
ing at  the  hands  of  the  savages.] 

"  In  the  midst  of  these  extreme  tortures,  he  called  to  Si- 
mon Girty  and  begged  of  him  to  shoot  him  ;  but  Girty  making 
no  answer  he  called  to  him  again.  Girty  then,  by  way  of  de- 
rision, told  the  Colonel  he  had  no  gun,  at  the  same  time  turn- 
ing about  to  an  Indian  who  was  behind  him,  laughed  heartily, 
and  by  all  his  gestures  seemed  delighted  at  the  horrid  scene. 

"  Girty  then  came  up  to  me  and  bade  me  prepare  for  death. 
He  said,  however,  I  was  not  to  die  at  that  place,  but  to  be 
burnt  at  the  Shawanese  towns.     He  swore  by  G — d  I  need 


372  History  of  the  Girtys. 

not  expect  to  escape  death,  but  should  suffer  it  in  all  its  ex- 
tremities. 

"  He  then  observed,  that  some  prisoners  had  given  him  to 
understand,  that  if  our  people  had  him  they  would  not  hurt 
him ;  for  his  part,  he  said,  he  did  not  believe  it,  but  desired  to 
know  my  opinion  of  the  matter,  but  being  at  that  time  in 
great  anguish  and  distress  for  the  torments  the  Colonel  was 
suffering  before  my  eyes,  as  well  as  the  expectation  of  under- 
going the  same  fate  in  two  days,  I  made  little  or  no  answer. 
He  expressed  a  great  deal  of  ill-will  for  Col.  Gibson,  and  said 
he  was  one  of  his  greatest  enemies,  and  more  to  the  same 
purpose,  to  all' which  I  paid  very  little  attention." — Knight 
and  Slover's  Narratives  (ed.  of  1783),  pp.  9-12. 


A    FICTITIOUS    ACCOUNT    OF    SIMON    «IHTY    ATTITUDINIi-INU  AS  AN 

ORATOIl. 

[Ante,  pp.  190,  191,  where  the  address  mentioned  below,  said  to  have  been 
delivered,  is  given.    Hee  al.-o  pp.  202,  203.) 

"Early  in  August,  1782,  large  detachments  of  Indian  war- 
riors from  the  Cherokee,  Wyandots,  Tawas,  and  Pottowatto- 
mies,  as  well  as  from  several  other  tribes  bordering  on  the 
lakes,  assembled  in  grand  council  at  Chillicothe,  where  they 
were  met  by  Simon  Girty  and  McKee,  two  renegade  white 
men,  unprincipled  in  disposition,  and  stained  with  the  blood 
of  innocent  women  and  children — their  lives  were  assimilated 
♦,o  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  Indians,  from  which  and  their 
general  knowledge  of  the  white  people,  they  had  acquired  the 
confidence  of  the  Indians,  were  faithful  to  their  interests,  and 
assisted  ut,  and  were  conspicuous  in  their  councils. 

"  Girty,  in  order  to  inflame  the  njinds  of  young  warriors 
against  the  Kentuckians,  took  an  elevated  stand,  when  he  dis- 
engaged his  arm  from  his  blanket,  assuming  the  attitude  of  an 
orator,  and  to  the  painted  savage  assembly,  equipped  in  all 


Appendix  P.  378 


the  habiliments  of  war,  delivered  the  following  address.' 
From  Bradford's  Notes. 


OONCERNINO    THE   BLUE   LICKS    CAMPAIGN. 
[Ante,  pp.  201,  205-208.] 

"  In  the  summer  of  1782,  the  British  commandant  at  Detroit 
ordered  Major  Caldwell  to  take  Simon  Girty,  a  few  traders, 
a  company  of  provincial  militia,  together  with  whatever  In- 
dians could  be  collected  at  Detroit  and  by  the  way,  and  with 
these  forces  to  attack  and  destroy  settlements  the  rebels  were 
making  south  of  the  Ohio.  Caldwell  collected  his  men,  was 
joined  by  a  party  of  Indians  at  Detroit  and  by  other  parties 
on  the  Maumee,  on  the  Great  Miami,  and  from  other  points 
along  the  line  of  march.  When  he  reached  the  Ohio,  his 
forces  thus  increased  amounted  to  about  four  hundred  men. 
It  was  Caldwell's  intention  to  attack  the  station  at  Beargrass 
(Louisville)  first,  but  receiving  information  that  Clark  was 
there,  and  that  the  place  Avas  supplied  with  cannon,  he  changed 
his  plan,  and  led  his  force  up  the  Kentucky  river,  and  thence 
to  Bryant's  station.  Before  they  arrived  there,  they  were 
discovered,  and  the  inhabitants  were  so  well  fortified  that 
a  siege  of  two  days  and  a  half  made  no  impression  upon 
them,  and  gave  no  hope  that  they  would  be  compelled  to  sur- 
render. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  Caldwell  withdrew  his  forces 
from  the  station  and  fell  back  as  far  as  the  Blue  Licks,  where 
game  was  supposed  to  be  sufiiciently  abundant  to  support 
them  until  he  could  find  some  other  and  weaker  point  of  at- 
tack. At  first  the  Indians  were  unwilling  to  alarm  the  buffa- 
loes by  encamping  too  near  the  Licks,  but  Caldwell,  a  vigilant 
and  efficient  commander,  suspecting  the  Kentuckians  were  in 
pursuit,  overruled  their  objection  and  selected  a  position  near 
the  Licks  most  favorable  for  defense.  They  had  not  been 
twenty-four  hours  in  their  new  location  before  the  Long  Knives 


374  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

came.  They  were  supposed  to  number  about  two  hundred 
men,  many  of  whom  fought  on  horseback,  and  appeared  to 
have  several  commanders.  All  of  them  who  were  fairly 
brought  into  action  fought  desperately,  but  it  seemed  they 
were  more  blind  than  orave  ;  for,  in  a  battle  of  one  hour  only, 
their  loss  was  sixty-five  killed,  and  many  wounded.  Of  these 
several  were  carried  off  by  their  companions,  and  the  re- 
mainder were  massacred  by  the  Indians.  Many  more  of  the 
Kcntuckians  must  have  fallen  had  the  Indians  continued  to 
fight  instead  of  scrambling  after  the  spoils,  and  even  fighting 
among  themselves  for  choice  rifles,  which  were  found  near  the 
dead  and  in  some  instances  wounded  wen." — Albach's  West- 
ern Annals  (1857),  pp.  395,  396. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  foregoing  statement  was  made  by  an 
individual  who  was  under  Caldwell  at  the  time.  But  another 
account  has  been  published,  which  will  now  be  given  to  be 
compared  with  the  one  just  inserted. 

"  Mr.  [Joel]  Collins  [whose  biography  is  being  given]  could 
detail  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  disastrous  bat- 
tle of  the  Blue  Licks.  I  will  u^ontion  one  singular  fact  related 
by  him  which  I  have  not  seen  referred  to  in  history.  He  said 
he  learned  it  from  an  old  man,  since  he  resided  in  the  State  of 
Ohio.  This  man  was  charged  by  some  of  his  neighbors  with 
being  a  tory  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  having  served  the 
British  with  the  Indians  under  the  notorious  Simon  Girty.  It 
was  alleged  that  he  was  present  at  the  siege  of  Bryant's  sta- 
tion, and,  subsequently,  at  the  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  Mr. 
Collins  stated  that  after  he  had  become  acquainted  with  the 
old  man,  and  acquired  his  confidence  by  several  little  acts  of 
kindness  and  friendship,  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  hear  what 
the  old  man  would  say  on  the  subject.  He  sought  a  fitting 
opportunity,  and  asked  him  if  what  he  had  heard  was  true. 
He  confessed  that  it  was.  They  then  sat  down  on  a  log  to- 
gether (for  they  were  alone  in  the  woods),  and  the  old  man 
saying  he  would  tell  him  all  about  it,  made  the  following  state- 
ment : 


Appendix  P.  876 


*' '  He  resided  in  the  State  of  New  York  at  the  time  the 
American  Revolution  commenced; 'a  cousin  of  his,  who  had 
received  a  lieutenant's  commission  in  the  American  army, 
made  him  drunk,  and  while  in  that  condition  induced  him  to 
enlist  during  the  war ;  when  he  became  sober  he  repented  of 
his  engagment,  but  the  officer  refused  to  let  him  oif.  He  de- 
serted and  fled  to  Detroit,  then  in  possession  of  the  English. 
Some  time  after  he  had  been  i'l  that  country  an  expedition 
was  planned  against  the  settlements  in  Kentucky,  to  be  com- 
posed chiefly  of  Indians  arid  such  of  the  white  inhabitants  as 
could  be  prevailed  on  to  join  them.  The  expedition  was  con- 
ducted by  an  officer  of  the'  British  army,  named  Caldwell. 
The  deserter  attached  himself  to  this  party  and  marched  with 
the  expedition.  After  they  had  failed  in  their  attack  on  Bry- 
ant's station  and  had  retreated  as  far  as  Licking  river,  near  the 
Blue  Licks,  Officer  Caldwell  consulted  w'.th  the  Indians  as  to 
the  probability  of  their  being  pursued  by  the  white  people, 
for  the  position  in  which  they  were  was  a  favorable  one  to 
give  battle  to  and  repel  the  whites  should  they  come  on.  The 
Indians  assured  the  Englishman  that  they  had  in  their  com- 
pany an  old  man  that  by  prophecy  or  conjuration  could  tell 
whether  they  were  pursued  or  not.  The  old  Indian  after  figur- 
ing awhile  with  his  conjurini;,  tools,  pointed  to  an  elevation 
in  the  skv  above  the  horizon,  which  would  leave  the  sun 
about  three  hours  high  in  the  afternoon,  and  said  :  When  the 
sun  gets  there,  the  Long  Knives  will  be  here.  The  Indians 
immediately  crossed  the  river  and  formed  an  ambuscade 
where  the  battle  was  fought.  Officer  Caldwell,  however,  not 
placing  implicit  confidence  in  the  conjuration  of  the  old  In- 
dian, mounted  a  couple  of  his  most  trusted  spies  on  fleet , 
horses  and  sent  them  back  to  make  discoveries.  They  htid 
not  proceeded  very  far  when  they  discovered  that  the  Kentuck- 
ianu  were  coming  on.  The  conjuration  of  the  Indian  was 
strictly  true.  The  result  is  known.'  " — McBride's  Pioneer 
Biography  (1869),  Vol.  I,  pp.  207,  208. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  "  old  man  "  referred  to  by  Mr. 
MoBride  does  not  say  that  the  "  Indians  "  were  "  under  the 


876  History  of  the  Girtys. 

notorious  Simon  Girty."  This  is  by  McBride  himself  or  by 
Mr.  Collins ;  and  is  so  asserted  as  one  of  the  facts  which 
every  body  understood.  But  this  "  old  man  "  was  either  a 
fraud  or  he  had  an  exceedingly  bad  memory.  If  the  former, 
he  had  gleaned  enough  about  the  story  of  the  Blue  Licks  to 
assert  one  thing  not  generally  known  at  that  day — the  fact 
that  Caldwell  was  the  leader  of  the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  the 
Blue  Licks ;  but  it  is  evident  that  he  was  in  the  expedi- 
tion, and  that  his  recollection  on  many  points  was  at  fault. 
A  careful  examination  of  his  statement  and  of  the  one  pub- 
lished by  Albach  discloses  the  fact  that  the  last  was  also  the 
account  of  the  same  "  old  man."  "  It  will  be  remembered  that, 
in  the  Albach  account,  Simon  Girty  is  represented  by  infer- 
ence as  having  no  command. 

Compare,  as  to  this  campaign,  "  Keith  "  (Thomas  M.  Green), 
in  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette,  August  19,  1882 ;  Richard 
H.  Collins,  in  Louisville  Courier-Journal,  August  17  and  19, 
same  year.     . 

In  connection  with  the  supposed  Girty-Reynolds  episode,  a 
few  authorities  as  to  the  point  that  there  was  no  cessation  in 
the  attack  on  the  station  (Bryan's)  after  it  began  until  its 
final  ending,  is  here  given  : 

"  The  siege  continued  from  about  sunrise  till  about  ten 
o'clock  the  next  day,  then  they  [the  enemy]  marched  off."— 
Boone  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  August  30,  1782,  in 
Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Papers,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  275.  "  They 
attacked  the  station  closely  and  defeated  different  parties  en- 
deavoring to  tlirow  in  assistance." — Logan  to  Harrison,  Au- 
,gU8t  31,  1782,  the  same,  p.  280.  "  They  .  .  .  kept  up  a 
smart  fire  till  the  morning  of  the  17th,  when  they  went  off." — 
Levi  Todd  to  Harrison  and  Council,  September  11,  1782,  id., 
p.  300.  "  In  the  meantime,  the  Indians  made  a  violent  attack 
upon  Bryant's  Fort  and  continued  it  all  day  and  night,  and 
a  storm  was  expected.  However  they  met  with  some  loss, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  went  off." — Levi  Todd  to 
Rob't  Todd,  August  26,  1782,  id.,  p.  333.     Not  one  of  these 


Appendix  Q.  37T 


writers  mention  any  demand  having  been  made  for  a  surrender,, 
■while  Levi  Todd,  it  will  be  noticed,  in  his  letter  of  the  twenty- 
sixth  expressly  declares  the  attack  "  continued  "  •'  all  day  and 
night."  Surely,  so  important  a  matter  as  a  demand  to  give 
up  the  station  would  have  been  known  by  these  writers  had. 
it  been  made ;  and,  having  been  known  by  them,  it  is  cer- 
tainly to  be  presumed  they  would  have  mentioned  it. 


Q. 

THE   HALDIMAND    MANUSCRIPTS. 

"After  1831  the  accessions  [to  the  manuscript  collections 
of  the  British  Museum]  have  been  arranged  in  one  series, 
called  'Additional  Manuscripts,'  and  including  the  Sloane  Col- 
lection, 4,000  vols.  This  later  classification  contained,  in 
1881,  31,380  volumes.  Though  there  are  papers  of  much  in- 
terest in  the  King's,  Egerton,  and  the  other  earlier  collections,, 
it  is  among  these  Additional  Manuscripts,  in  the  Ilaldimand 
Papers,  that  we  find  the  richest  stores  pertaining  to  the 
American  Revolution.  These  Ilaldimand  Papers  are  em- 
braced in  232  volumes,  covering  the  years  1758-1785,  mainly 
in  Canada,  though  an  interval  was  passed  by  Ilaldimand  in 
Florida.  These  papers,  catalogued  in  the  printed  Index  to 
MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  (London,  1880),  p.  679,  are 
marked  as  having  been  acquired  between  1854  and  1875,^ 
and  are  called  Official  Correspondence  and  Papers  of  Gen. 
Frederick  Ilaldimand  during  his  various  Commands,  1758- 
1785  (British  Museum,  Additional  Manuscripts,  Nos.  21,661- 
21,982).  They  include  letters  of  Earl  Howe  to  Ilaldimand, 
1778-1785  (No.  21,709);  Sir  William  Howe's,  1778-1779,. 
1781  (Nos.  21,734,  21,807,  21,808);  Sir  Henry  Clinton's, 
1777-1783   (Nos.   21,807,   21,808);   Burgoyne's,   1779-1782 

'  They  weru  tnuinly  bequeathed  to  the  Museum  by  Willitim,  nephew  (or, 
probably,  grand-nephew)  of  General  HaUlimHnd.  Compare  aceount  of 
Haldimand  by  G.  I).  Soull,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History,  1884, 
Vol.  VIII,  p.  300,  and  IJryinner's  ui'oouiit  of  Haldimand  in  hid  Report  for 
1887. 


378  History  of  the  Girtys. 

(No8.  21,732,  21,733,  21,734),  and  Washington's,  1780-8  (in 
No.  21,835). 

"There  is  a  volume  of  copies  of  those  relating  to  the 
French  war  among  the  Parkman  Papers  in  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society;  but  the  most  extensive  transcripts  in 
America  is  the  series  made  from  them  for  the  Canadian  gov- 
ernment at  Ottawa,  which  have  been  described  in  the  Reports 
of  the  Dominion  archivist  Douglas  Brymner.'  In  his  Report 
for  1884,  he  has  begun  an  elaborate  calendar  of  the  entire 
collection,  which  it  is  intended  finally  to  publish  separately. 

"  The  Haldimand  Papers  include  a  series  of  correspondence 
with  the  governors  of  the  American  colonies,  1765-1774;  his 
correspondence  with  Germain  and  the  hoUiC  government,  re- 
poriing  cm  affairs  in  the  colonies ;  and  the  minutes  of  the 
Council  at  Quebec,  1778-1784,  beside  a  great  variety  of  other 
important  papers.  It  is  the  fullest  repository  which  we  have 
of  the  attempted  negotiations  for  sundering  Vermont  from  the 
American  cause.'' 

"  Haldimand  was  a  friend  of  Henry  Bouquet  (who  died 
1765),  and  inherited  his  papers,  so  that  what  are  known  as 
the  Bouquet  Papers  are  a  component  part  of  the  Haldimand 
Papers.  These  are  also  indexed  in  the  Catalogue  of  MSS.  in 
the  British  Museum. 

"  Many  papers  supplementing  the  Haldimand  Papers  are  in 
the  Quebec  series  in  the  Public  Record  Office,  making  ten 
volumes,  and  these  are  noted  in  Brymner's  Report  for  1883, 
p.  79." — Justin  Winsor,  in  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 
America,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  461,  462. 

"  The  fact  as  to  the  originals  of  the  Haldimand  Papers 
being  both  in  the  State  Paper  Office  and   in  the   British  Mu- 

'  Compare  his  Report  (appended  to  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture)  for  1873,  1881,  1882. 

*  Compare  Haldimand  Papers,  with  Contemporaneous  History,  1779-1783, 
in  Ve^mont  Uistorica)  Society  Collections,  Vol.  II,  and  the  statements  re- 
specting the  importance-  of  these  papers  in  investigating  this  question,  as 
detailed  in  Vol.  VI  of  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America. 
Haldimand  at  one  time  .captured  B.  Arnold's  papers. — Pennsylvania  Maga- 
zine of  History,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  309. 


Appendix  Q.  379 


fleum,"  writes  Douglas  Bryniner  to  the  author  of  this  narrative, 
on  the  20th  of  January,  1890,  "  is  easily  explained  : 

*'  The  uncertainty  of  transport  was  so  great  that  triplicate 
(soraetimos  quadruplicate)  originals  were  sent  from  both  sides. 
Haldimand  kept  a  complete  collection  of  what  was  sent  him 
and  copies  for  his  own  use  of  all  the  letters  he  sent  to  the 
ministry.  Hence  the  originals  in  the  Museum.  The  original 
letters  from  Haldimand  and  copies  of  all  letters  fipnt  to  him 
were  kept  in  the  Colonial  OflSce  and  subsequently  transferred 
to  the  Record  (State  Paper)  Office.  Hence  the  possession  of 
originals  there  also.  But  the  correspondence  in  the  latter  is 
very  limited  as  compared  with  Haldimand's  own  collection, 
only  9  volumes  as  compared  with  232,  every  sort  of  subject 
<5oming  within  range  of  Haldimand  being  kept  on  record. 
Besides  the  9  volumes  there  are  others  in  the  Treasury,  etc., 
but  the  whole  of  those  in  the  government  departments  can  not 
make  any  thing  like  the  number  in  Haldimand's  own  collec- 
tion." 

"Among  the  most  valuable  of  the  hitherto  untouched  manu- 
scripts which  I  have  obtained,"  says  Theodore  Roosevelt  in 
his  Preface  to  The  Winning  of  the  West,  are  the  Haldimand 
papers,  preserved  in  the  Canadian  archives  at  Ottawa."  And 
that  author  continues :  "  They  [the  Haldimand  Papers] 
give,  for  the  first  time,  the  British  and  Indian  side  of  all  the 
northwestern  fighting ;  including  Clark's  campaigns,  the 
siege  of  Boonsborough  [sic],  the  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks, 
Crawford's  defeat,  etc." 

In  the  Vermont  Historical  Society's  Collections,  Vol.  II, 
are  published  many  letters  and  documents  from  the  Haldi- 
mand Collection,  as  before  noted.  That  volume  was  given  to 
the  public  a  number  of  years  ago  ;  and,  of  the  particular  letters 
and  documents  thus  printed,  there  may  be  mentioned  those  re- 
lating to  Crawford's  defeat  and  notably  those  concerning 
Clark's  abortive  campaign  against  Detroit  in  1781,  being  the 
official  report  of  Lochry's  defeat  and  a  letter  from  General 
Haldimand  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  of  September  29,  1781. 

But   further :     In    the    IXth    volume    of    the    Michigan 


380  History  of  the  Girtys. 

Pioneer  Collections,  published  in  1886  (pp.  343-658),  is 
printed  a  large  number  of  letters  and  documents  from  the 
Haldimand  Papers  (and  more  are  promised),  copies  having 
been  made  for  that  purpose  from  the  Ottawa  transcripts. 
Many  of  these  are  the  same  as  those  used  in  The  Winning  of 
the  West. 

So,  also,  early  in  1888,  there  were  printed  in  the  Xlth 
volume  of  the  Collections  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of 
Wisconsin  (pp.  97-212),  many  of  the  Haldimand  Papers,  copies 
for  that  purpose  having  been  obtained  fnm  the  Canada  tran- 
scripts. These  are  ably  annotated  by  Reuben  G.  Thwaites, 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  that  Society. 

Again  :  In  the  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence  (Madi- 
son, Wisconsin,  David  Atwood,  1882),  in  an  historical  sketch 
of  one  of  Clark's  campaigns  (see  pp.  55,  56),  Haldimand 
Papers  are  cited  by  the  author  of  this  narrative  and  relied 
upon  ;  and  in  the  same  volume  are  published  from  the  same 
all  of  the  most  important  of  the  letters  of  that  Collection  re- 
lating to  Crawford's  defeat  (pp.  368-371).  And  in  the  Maga- 
zine of  Westeru  History,  Vol.  YII,  pp.  153-165,  357-368 
(June  and  August,  1888),  Haldimand  Papers,  are  relied 
upon  and  frequently  cited  in  a  narrative  of  principal  events  " 
occurring  in  the  Ohio  valley  and  in  the  North-west  from  the 
commencement  of  1779  to  the  end  of  1781,  referring  to  much 
of,  though  not  to  "  all  the  northwestern  fighting  "  during  that 
period. 

In  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  in  Farmer's 
History  of  Detroit,  and  in  an  able  paper  entitled  The  West,  by 
William  Frederick  Poole,  to  be  found  in  the  Vlth  volume  of 
Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  Haldi- 
mand Papers  are  used.  All  these  publications  (and  others 
might  be  mentioned)  were  given  to  the  public  before  the  two 
volumes  of  Roosevelt. 

It  is  proper  here  to  examine  the  declaration  of  Roosevelt  as 
to  the  Haldimand  Papers  giving  "  the  British  and  Indian  side 
of  ail  the  northwestern  fighting ;  "  he  means  *'  all  the  north- 
western fighting  "  between  the  Americans  on  one  side  and  the 


Appendix  Q.  381 


British  and  Indians  on  the  other  during  the  Revolution.  This 
is  not  strictly  correct,  although  the  Papers  refer,  more  or  less, 
to  the  principal  contests  of  arms  in  that  region  from  1777  to 
1783  inclusive — the  period  covering  "  the  northwestern  fight- 
ing." But  the  mischievousness  of  the  stateinent  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  conveys  the  idea  that  the  writer  (Roosevelt)  is  in 
possession  of  all  the  "  papers  "  of  the  Ilaldimand  Collection 
bearing  upon  those  conflicts,  or,  at  least,  of  all  that  are 
necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of  them. 

Farther  on  in  his  Preface,  Roosevelt  complicates  matters. 
"  I  have  been  obliged,"  he  says,  "  to  rely  mainly  on  these  col- 
lections of  early  documents  [the  Haldimand  Papers  and  other 
manuscripts  which  ho  mentions]  as  my  authorities,  especially 
for  that  portion  of  western  history  prior  to  1783."  Confining 
ourselves  to  the  Haldimand  Papers,  the  question  is  pertinent, 
how  could  that  writer  rely  with  positive  certainty  upon  them, 
in  particular  cases,  when  by  far  the  most  important — the  most 
necessary — of  them  relating  to  the  events  he  is  describing  he, 
probably,  had  not  seen  ?  He  declares  in  the  paragraph,  from 
which  the  last  quotation  is  made,  that  "  the  mass  of  original 
material,  in  the  shape  of  official  reports  and  contemporary  let- 
ters, contained  in  the  Haldimand  MSS.  [and  others  mentioned 
by  him],  not  only  cast  a  flood  of  new  light  uoon  this  early  his- 
tory [that  is,  the  early  history  of  the  country  west  of  the 
AUeghanies],  but  necessitates  its  being  entirely  re-written." 
And  he  nerves  himself  to  this  task  of  re-Avriting  a  part  of 
early  Western  history  in  one  notable  instance  (and  there  are 
others,  in  his  pages),  that  of  giving  an  account  of  Bird's  cam- 
paign into  Kentucky — than  which  there  was  none  more  impor- 
tant in  the  West  during  the  Revolution — by  describing  it 
without  having  seen,  it  is  believed,  the  Official  Correspondence 
of  the  British  commander  concerning  the  expedition,  which  is 
among  the  Canadian  transcripts  of  the  Haldimand  Papers. 
(See  pp.  120,  182,  198,  ante.) 


882  Hutory  of  the  Girtys. 


R. 

(JEORdK   OIRTY   TO   CAPTAIN   ALKXANl>KR    m'kEK. 

[Ante,  p.  29.1.] 

"BucKUNOEilELAS  TowN,  September  5,  1784. 

"  Sir : — I  have  to  ncquiiint  you  that  Home  of  the  Cherokees 
and  Sliawanese  InilianH  are  gone  a  horse-hunting  again.  I 
am  likewise  informed  that  the  Kikapoos  and  Wcas  have  taken 
several  prisoners  lately  from  about  the  Falls  and  Salt  creek, 
which  has  occasioned  an  army  to  march  from  the  Falls  against 
them.  They  have  been  met  by  Indian  spies  from  Weatenon. 
The  Indians  say  they  did  not  mean  to  kill  Wilson  only  to 
frighten  him.     His  man  was  killed  by  Snake's  nephew. 

"A  Shawancse  Indian  with  two  white  men  who  came  from 
the  Falls  lately,  informs  me,  that  four  Spaniards  who  came 
from  New  Orleans  to  that  place  made  a  speech  to  send  among 
the  Indians,  informing  them  that  now  the  Knglish  and  Ameri- 
cans were  one.  The  latter  were  to  be  supplied  with  every 
thing  they  wanted  by  the  former  which  occasioned  the  Ameri- 
cans to  be  very  saucy. 

''  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  Geobob  Girty. 

"Alexander  McKee,  Esq." 


S. 

EXAMINATION    OF   JOHN    LEITH. 
[See  p.  224.] 

"  The  deponent  eaith  that  he  was  storekeeper  for  himself 
and  company  at  Tuscarawas,  where  he  had  a  quantity  of  goods 
and  furs  ;  that  there  was  another  store  at  the  same  place,  kept 
by  James  Chambers,  for  Messieurs  Hamilton  and  Greenough, 
where  was  also  a  considerable  amount  of  goods  and  ckins; 


Appendix  A'. 


that  the  whole  property  in  both  stores  was  about  the  value  of 
one  thousand  pounds.  < 

"  That  on  Tuesday,  the  27th  of  September,  seven  of  the 
Wyandot  nation  came  to  the  store,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  ;  the  deponent  and  Chambers  were  together  at  his 
house,  sitting  by  the  lire;  the  Wynndots  told  tht  Delawares, 
a  party  of  whom  had  been  trading  with  him  for  some  <lays,  that 
there  wiis  war — tliat  the  hatchet  was  taken  up;  upon  which, 
one  of  the  Dehiwarea  came  to  him  and  bid  him  rise  and  go 
with  him  ;  the  deponent  went  with  him,  when  the  Delaware 
told  him  that  Chambers  would  bo  killed ;  lie  soon  heard  the 
stroke  n)ade  at  Chambers  by  one  of  the  Wyandots  ;  ho  was 
immediately  tomahawked  and  drawn  out  before  the  house, 
where  he  was  left ;  the  deponent  having  been  a  prisoner  with 
the  Delawares  for  twelve  years,  and  being  adopted  as  a  brother 
in  that  nation,  was  the  reason,  he  supposes,  why  his  life  was 
spared ;  the  Wyandots  took  the  goods  and  furs,  except  the 
property  of  the  deponent,  and  made  two  parcels  of  them  ;  they 
gave  one  division  to  the  Delawares,  and  took  the  other  them- 
selves. 

"  TRe  deponent  was  carried  to  the  Delaware  towns,  to  a  place 
called  Coshurking,  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Big  Miami;  at 
the  time  of  his  arrival,  there  was  a  grand  council  of  the  In- 
dians, at  which  were  present  the  chiefs  of  the  Delawares,  Wy- 
andots, Shawanese,  Mingoes,  Cherokees,  Putawatimees,  Kicka- 
poos,  and  the  Twigtees,  with  belts  and  speeches  from  the 
Ouiatinons,  Tawas,  Chipeways,  and  the  Fox  nations. 

"  The  council  was  held  on  the  first  of  October,  and  lasted 
two  days  and  nights ;  they  held  it  three  miles  from  the  town  ; 
he  could  not  learn  the  object  of  their  meeting. 

*'  The  deponent  further  saith  that  he  met  with  Captain  Pipe 
at  the  council,  and,  as  soon  as  the  council  was  over,  the  de- 
ponent was  released  from  confinement ;  Captain  Pipe  and 
George  Washington  went  with  him  to  Pipe's  residence,  a  Dela- 
ware town  on  the  Sandusky  River ;  they  immediately  went  to 
work  to  collect  the  goods  that  were  taken  at  Tuscarawas,  and 
had  collected  a  considerable  quantity  to  be  redelivered  to  the 


884  HUtory  of  the  Oirty». 

owners  ;  tlioy  staid  two  nights  at  Pipe's  town,  when  Pipe, 
(icorgo  Washington,  and  deponent  went  to  the  Wyanilot  towns 
whore  they  were  collecting  the  goods  also ;  that  the  chiefs  of 
both  nations  seemed  very  averse  to  tlio  outrage  committed  at 
Tuscarawas;  the  deponent  verily  believes  that  a  considerable 
quantity  of  the  goods  will  bo  returned ;  the  deponent  is  of  the 
opinion,  fr(»ni  the  frequent  conversations  he  has  had  with  the 
Indians,  before  and  since  the  late  affair  at  Tuscarawas,  that 
the  chiefs  of  the  Delaware  and  Wyandot  nations  are  for  peace, 
but  that  the  young  men  and  bad  characters  of  both  nations  can 
not  be  kept  at  peace;  that  Simon  Girty  and  Captain  Caldwell 
of  the  British  rangers,  were  lately  at  the  Wyandot  towns,  and 
that  he  verily  believes,  from  the  information  given  him  by  a 
man  well  acquainted  with  these  matters,  that  Girty  and  Cald- 
well were  using  their  endeavors  to  prevent  the  Delawares  and 
Wyandots  from  going  to  the  treaty  to  be  held  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Big  Miami. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that,  from  every  observation  he 
could  make,  and  from  the  general  talk  of  the  Indians,  ho  is 
led  to  believe  that  they  are,  in  general,  averse  to  giving  up 
their  lands ;  he  is  certain  it  will  be  dangerous  for  tlfb  Con- 
tinental surveyors  to  go  on  with  their  business,  until  some  fur- 
ther treaty  is  made  with  the  Shawanese,  Mingoes,  and  Chero- 
kees,  who  appear  to  be  most  averse  to  this  business. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that  he  was  at  the  Lower  San- 
dusky, when  the  articles  of  peace  between  Groat  Britain  and 
America  were  made  known  to  the  Indians ;  that  they  were 
told  that  the  hatchet  was  only  laid  down,  but  not  buried  ;  that 
the  Half  King  of  the  Wyandots  remarked  that,  if  it  was  peace, 
it  should  be  buried — that  there  were  many  of  their  foolish 
young  men  Avho  would  take  it  up,  unless  it  was  covered.  And 
further  saith  not.' 

"  Sworn  to  before  me,  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  this  17t'a  day  of 
October,  1785. 

"John  Douqiity, 

''Major  Corim'dt." 

[St.  Clair  Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  632,  633.] 

■  . 

^  MS.  Harniar  Papers. 


AppniiUx  T.  885 


T. 

m'kKK   TIIK.    I'llINCIl'AL    STIMUI.ATOIl   OV   THI-;    WAR   OK    ITHO-OG. 

MoKoe,  118  Hritish  Indiiin  ajj;(nit,  reported,  on  the.  8(1  of 
June,  17!M,  from  the  "  Mintiiia  Ilapids''  (Hiipids  of  tlie  Mnu- 
ineo),  tlmt  a  deserter  liad  come  in  from  tlic  American  army  at 
Fort  Greenville.  In  ;;iviiig  inform.ttioti  as  to  tlie  intelligence 
brought  by  him,  McKee  says  :  "  Wells  and  May,  two  spies, 
with  sixteen  others,  dress  and  ])aint  themselves  like  Indiana, 
and  were  out  on  a  scout  when  he  deserteil.  They  are  paid 
forty  dollars  for  every  Indian's  scalp,  besides  a  dollar  each  per 
day  ;  and  one  thousand  dollars  are  offered  for  the  scalp  of  Simon 
Girty."  (Consult,  for  a  copy  of  McKee's  Report,  transcripts 
of  the  Ilaldimand  Papers,  in  Canadiiin  Archives,  Ottawa,  Se- 
ries "  C,"  Vol.  247,  p.  105.)  But  neither  General  Wayne  nor 
any  of  his  officers  offered  a  bounty  for  Indian  scalps  during 
this  war,  nor  was  any  sum  offered  by  them  for  the  scalp  of 
Simon  Girty.  They  would  certainly  not  have  taken  such 
responsibility  w  ithout  orders :  and  their  official  instructions 
contain  no  such  authority.  The  deserter  had  either  been 
wrongly  informed,  or  he  purposely  told  what  was  false.  Gen- 
eral Wayne  looked  upon  McKee  as  being  "  the  principal  stim- 
ulator "  of  the  war  then  existing ;  and  had  he  been  authorized 
to  offer  one  thousand  dollars  reward  for  the  scalp  of  any  white 
man,  it  would,  doubtless,  have  been  for  his.  Besides,  Wells 
and  May  went  out  to  take  prisoners,  not  scalps. 

That,  in  the  opinion  of  Wayne,  MeKee  was  the  chief  insti- 
gator of  the  war  is  proven  by  the  letter  of  the  former  to  the 
secretary  of  war  from  head-quarters,  Grand  Glaize,  28  Aug., 
1794.  "...  We  remained  three  days  and  nights  on 
the  banks  of  the  Miami  [Maumee]  in  front  of  the  field  of  bat- 
tle [of  August  20th],  during  which  time  all  the  houses  and 
corn-fields  were  consumed  and  destroyed  for  a  considerable 
distance,  both  above  and  below  the  fort  Miami,  as  well  as 
within  pistol  shot  of  that  garrison,  who  were  compel]^  to  re- 
25 


386  History  of  the  Qirtys. 


main  tacit  spectators  to  this  general  devastation  and  confla- 
gration, among  which  were  the  houses,  stores,  and  property 
of  Colonel  McKee,  the  British  Indian  agent,  and  principal 
stimulator  of  the  war  now  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  the  savages." — American  State  Papers,  Vol.  V  (fnd. 
Afl".,  Vol.  I),  p.  491.     The  following  ara  in  corroboration : 

Examination  of  a  prisoner,  11  Aug.,  1794.  "Where  are 
the  Indians  at  this  time  ?  "—"At  Colonel  McKee's."  "  Where 
are  the  British?" — "In  a  fort  ab'.it  one  mile  below  Colonel 
McKee's." 

"About  seventy  of  the  militia  including  Capt.  Caldwell's 
corps,  were  in  the  action.  Colonel  McKee,  Capt.  Elliott, 
and  Simon  Girty,  were  in  the  field,  but  at  a  respectable  dis- 
tance, and  near  the  river.  The  Indians  have  wished  for  peace 
some  time,  but  Colonel  McKee  has  always  dissuaded  them 
from  it." — From  an  examination  of  Antoine  Lassell,  a  native 
Canadian,  and  a  volunteer  in  Capt.  Caldwell's  company  of 
refugees,  friends  and  allies  of  the  hostile  Indians,  captured  in 
the  action  of  the  20th  August,  1794.  American  State  Papers, 
Vol.  V  (Ind.  Aff.,  Vol.  I),  p.  494. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  is  the  following  from  anoti^er  pris- 
oner :  "  The  Indians  are  regularly  supplied  with  provisions 
drawn  from  the  British  magazine,  in  the  garrison,  by  Colonel 
McKee.  The  militia  of  Detroit  and  vicinity  amounts  to 
nearly  two  thousand.  Colonel  Baubee  commands  them.  Mc- 
Kee is  also  a  Colonel  of  militia.  One  company  of  volunteers 
commanded  by  Capt.  Caldwell  was  in  the  action  [of  the 
♦  Fallen  Timber,'  August  20th]." 


U. 

GOVERNOR   SIMCOE,  OF   CANADA,  PREVENTS    PEACE   IN   1794. 

[Ante,  p.  a87.] 

"  In  the  month  of  October  following  this  defeat  [the  battle 
of  the  '^Fallen  Timber,'  August  20,  1794J   Blue  Jacket  con- 


Appendix    f.  387 


curred  in  the  expediency  of  suing  for  peace,  and  at  the  head 
of  a  deputation  of  chiefs,  was  about  to  bear  a  flag  to  General 
Wayne,  then  at  Greenville,  when  the  mission  was  arrested  by 
foreign  influence.  Governor  Siiucoc,  Colonel  McKee,  and  the 
Mohawk  chief,  Captain  Joseph  Brant,  having  in  charge  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Mohawks  and  Messasagoes,  arrived  at  the 
rapids  of  the  Mauinee,  and  invited  the  chiefs  of  the  combined 
army  to  meet  them  at  the  n.outh  of  the  Detroit  river,  on  the 
10th  of  October,  To  this  Blue  Jacket  assented  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hearing  what  the  British  officers  had  to  propose. 
Governor  Simcoe  urged  the  Indians  to  retain  their  hostile  at- 
titude towards  the  United  States.  In  referring  to  the  en- 
croachments of  the  people  of  this  country  on  the  Indian  lands, 
he  said:  'Children :  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  that  the  Ohio  is 
your  right  and  title.  I  have  given  orders  to  the  commandant 
of  Fort  Miami  [the  fort  recently  erected  by  the  British  on  the 
Mauraee]  to  fire  on  the  Americans  whenever  they  make  their 
appearance  again.  I  will  go  down  to  Quebec  and  lay  your 
grievances  before  the  great  man.  From  thence  they  will  be 
forwarded  to  the  king  your  father.  Next  spring  you  will 
know  the  result  of  every  thing  you  and  I  will  do.'  He  urged 
the  Indians  to  obtain  a  cessation  of  hostilities  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  when  the  English  would  be  ready  to  attack  the 
Americans  and  by  driving  them  back  across  the  Ohio,  restore 
their  lands  to  the  Indians.  These  counsels  delayed  the  con- 
clusion of  peace  until  the  following  summer." — Drake's  Te- 
cumseh.  But  it  is  certain  peace  was  not,  because  of  this, 
counsel  of  Governor  Simcoe,  much  delayed. 


V. 

BIMON  OIRTY  AND  THE  SCOTCH-IRISH  OF  WBSrERN  VIRGINIA. 

It  is  a  fact  (which  is  not  at  all  a  matter  of  surprise  or  won- 
der) that  certain  localities  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  '*  Pan- 
Handle,"  in  West  Virginia,  escaped  the  visitations  of  the  sav- 


388  Hidory  of  the  Girfys. 


durins;  the  Revolution  and  the   Indian  war  which   fol- 


"O 


ages 

lowed ;  but,  that  that  fact  was  owing,  in  any  way,  to  the  ef- 
forts of  Simon  Girty,  is  the  height  of  absurdity.  "  It  is  re-r 
lated,"  says  a  recent  account,  "  that  no  murders  or  depreda- 
tions were  ever  committed  in  a  certain  neighborhood  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Ohio  County  [West  Virginia]  and  it  is  pretty 
certain  that  not  many  happened  on  the  easttrn  side  of 
Brooke  [county,  same  state],  until  we  reach  the  region  on  the 
head-waters  of  Cross  creek  and  thence  northward  on  Harmon's 
and  King's  creeks.  Some  attributed  this  to  favoritism.  This 
region  was  peopled,  says  the  account,  by  Presbyterians  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  stock,  who  located  there  to  secure  homes  for 
themselves  and  their  children ;  and  with  the  high  sense  of  jus- 
tice, characteristic  of  them,  they  refused  to  aid  or  counte- 
nance any  aggressions  against  the  Indians.  There  were  no 
scouts  or  Indian  fighters  a;nong  them,  and  noae  of  the  lawless 
class.  They  acted  strictly  on  *;he  defensive.  From  the  light 
that  has  since  been  thrown  upon  the  character  of  Simon  Girty, 
it  appears  that  they  were  unknowingly  indebted  to  him  for 
their  exemption  from  Indian  trouble ;  notwithstanding  that 
they  always  considered  Girty  to  be  their  Avorst  enemy.  Girty, 
it  is  very  certain,  was  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
the    settlements." — Jacob's   Brooke    County,  West  Virginia, 

p.  25. 

That  the  Scotch-Irish,  of  Western  Virginia,  during  the 
dark  days  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Indian  War  of  1790-5, 
had  "  no  scouts  or  Indian  fighters  among  them,"  is  a  veiy  dif- 
ferent story  from  what  authentic  history  tells  us.  None 
fought  the  Indians  with  more  zeal  and  determination;  none 
were  more  ready  and  willing  to  repel  savage  aggressions ; 
none  marched  into  the  Indian  country  with  more  heroic  valor 
than  they.  And,  to  this  rule,  there  were  no  exceptions  ;  there 
were  no  localities  where  they  were  not  ever  on  the  alert  to 
protect  their  homes  against  the  visitations  of  the  stealthy  foe ; 
none  where  the  inhabitants  were  not  instant  in  their  responses 
to  the  calls  for  volunteers  to  pursue  war  parties  of  the  mur- 
derous enemy.     To  talk  of  these  people  refusing  "  to  aid  or 


Appendix    W.  389 


countenance  any  aggressions  against  the  Indians "  is  non- 
sense. The  "  aggressions  "  were  from  the  other  side.  And 
when  Simon  Girty  visited  the  Pan-IIandle  during  these  wars, 
which  he  did  but  once  after  fleeing  his  country,  it  was  to  kill 
and  capture,  regardless  of  nationality  or  creeds. 


W. 

PEED   OF    SIMON    (IIKTY    TO    HIS    SON    THOMAS. 

[Auto.  pp.  307,  808.] 

A  Memorial  to  be  registered  pursuant  to  an  Act  of  the 
Legislature  of  Upper  Canada  of  an  Indenture  of  bargain  and 
sale  made  at  Amherstburg  on  the  first  day  of  May,  A.  D.,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve,  between  Simon  Girty  of 
the  one  part,  yeoman,  and  Thomas  Girty,  his  son,  of  the  other 

Whereby  the  said  Simon  Girty  for  and  in  consideration  of 
the  natural  aflfection,  which  the  said  Simon  bears  to  his  said 
son  Thomas  and  also  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
five  Shillings  paid  by  the  said  Thon>a.s.  to  said  Sii.ion  the  re- 
ceipt whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged. 

The  said  Simon  Girty,  doth  hereby  grant,  bargain,  sell,  and 
alien,  and  confirm  to  the  said  Thomas  Girty,  his  heirs  and  as- 
signs forever,  all  that  certain  tract  or  parcel  of  land  and  tene- 
ment commonly  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  the  north 
half  of  lot  number  eleven,  in  the  first  Concession  of  the 
Township  of  Maiden,  in  the  Countyof  Essex,  and  Province  of 
Upper  Canada,  containing  by  admeasurement  eighty  two 
acres,  be  the  same  more  or  less,  butted  and  bounded  as  fol- 
lows :  (that  is  to  say)  beginning  at  a  post  on  the  bank  of  the 
River  Detroit  in  the  limits  between  limits  of  lots  number 
ten  and  eleven,  then  east  one  hundred  and  thirty  one  chains, 
then  south  six  chains  twenty-six  links,  then  west  to  the 
River  Detroit,  then  northerly  along  the  shore  of  the  river 
against  the  stream  to  the  place  of  beginning,  with  the  rever- 
sion and  reversions,  rents,  issues  and  profits,  with  their  and  all 


890  Hintory  of  the  Girtya. 


their  appurtenances  to  tlie  said  tract  of  land  and   premises 
above  described. 

To  have  and  to  hold  to  the  said  Thomas  Girty,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  forever. 

Which  said  Indenture  of  bargain  and  sale  is  witnessed  by 
A.  Masonville,  of  Amherstburg,  merch't,  and  William  Elliott, 
advocate,  both  of  Amherstburg,  county,  district  and  province 
as  aforesaid,  and  is  hereby  required  to  be  registered  by  me 
the  said  Simon  Girty,  the  grantor  in  the  said  deed  named. 

As  witness  my  hand  and  seal  at  Amherstburg  aforesaid 
this  3d  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1813.  iiis 

Simon    f  Girty.     [i..  s.] 

Signed  and  sealed  in  mark 

presence  of 
W.  Elliott, 
Wm.  Duff. 

I  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  an  instru- 
ment as  entered  and  registered  in  the  Registry  office  for  the 
County  of  Essex,  in  Old  Book  "  C."  for  said  County,  at  9 
O'clock  A.  M.,  on  the  9th  day  of  August,  A.  D.,  1813,  as  No. 
176. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office  at  Sandwich,  in  the 
County  of  Essex,  this  tith  day  of  September,  A.  D.,  1885. 

J.  Wallace  Arkin, 

Jiegistrar. 


(lEXKRAL    HARRISON    IN    CANADA    IN    1813. 

[A (lie,  j>.  !!09.] 

Concerning  the  arrival  of  General  Harrison's  men  in  Can- 
ada, immediately  after  the  victory  upon  Lake  Erie,  many  ac- 
counts have  been  published.  A  trustworthy  one  is  Jiere  in- 
serted : 

"  The  whole  army  embarked  from  the  Middle  Sister  [one  of 
the  islands  in  Lake  Erie]  for  the  Canada  shore,  on  the  27th 
of  September,  1813],  and  presented  in  its  denouement  one  of 


Appendix  X.  891 


the  finest  occasions  for  the  pencil  of  the  iirtiat ;  iin«l  the  inter- 
est of  the  scene  was  not  a  little  awakened  by  the  momentary 
expectation  of  the  opening  of  the  enemy's  fire  from  the  shore. 
No  opposition,  however,  was  made  to  the  landing  of  our 
troops,  and  Commodore  [who  was  present]  frequently  ex- 
pressed his  admiration  for  the  promptness  and  discipline  dis- 
played on  the  occasion.  Just  at  the  moment  of  debarkation 
the  General  issued  along  the  line  of  boats  the  following  la- 
conic and  impressive  order  : 

'"Head-Quarters  on  Boakd  the  Ariel, 

September  27,  1813. 
" '  The  General  entreats  his  brave  troops  to  remember  that 
they  are  the  sons  of  sires  whose  fame  is  immortal ;  that  they 
are  to  fight  for  'the  rights  of  their  insulted  country,  whilst 
their  opponents  combat  for  the  unjust  pretensions  of  a  mas- 
ter. 

" ' Kentuckians !  remember  the  River  Raisin;  but  remem- 
ber it  only  whilst  the  victory  is  suspended.     The  revenge  of  a 
soldier  can  not  be  gratified  upon  a  fallen  enemy. 
" '  By  command, 

"'RcBBRT  Butler,  A.-Adjutant-Qcneral. 

"  In  an  hour  after  landing,  the  troops  entered  Amherstburg ; 
and  the  American  flag  was  hoisted.  The  following  is  the  Gen- 
eral's official  letter  from  that  place : 

♦"Head-Quarters,  Amherstburg,  September  27, 1813. 
" '  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  landed  the 
army  under  my  command  about  three  miles  below  this  place  at 
8  o'clock  this  evening,  without  opposition  and  took  possession 
of  the  town  in  an  hour  after.  General  Proctor  has  retreated  to 
Sandwich  with  his  regular  troops  and  Indians,  having  previously 
burned  the  fort,  navy-yard,  barracks  and  public  store  houses, 
— the  two  latter  were  very  extensive,  covering  several  acres 
of  ground.  I  will  pursue  the  enemy  to-morrow,  although 
there  is  no  probability  of  my  overtaking  him,  as  he  has  up- 


892  History  of  the  Girtys. 

wards  of  one  thousand  horses,  and  we  have  not  one  in  the 
army.  I  shall  think  myself  fortuniito  to  he  able  to  collect  a 
sufficiency  to  mount  the  general  officers.  It  is  supposed  here 
that  General  Proctor  intends  to  establish  himself  upon  the 
River  French,  forty  miles  from  Maiden. 

" '  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

"'Wm.  H.  Harrison.'" 

The  army  under  General  Harrison  left  Amherstburg  on  the 
next  day  (September  SSth),  and  entered  Sandwich  on  the  29th. 
General  McArthur's  brigade  immediately  crossed  over  and 
took  possession  of  Detroit,  which  had  previously  been  aban- 
doned and  the  public  buildings  and  property  destroyed.  On 
the  same  evening,  General  Harrison  issued  his  proclamation 
for  re-establishing  the  civil  government  of  the  Territory;  but 
the  order  previously  issued  by  Proctor,  declaring  martial  law 
on  the  Canada  side  of  the  river,  was  continued  in  force.  Col- 
onel Richard  M.  Johnson  arrived  with  his  regiment  at  Detroit, 
on  the  30th  of  September,  and  joined  the  main  army  at  Sand- 
wich on  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  October.  General  Harrison 
had  awaited  his  coming  before  commencing  his  pursuit  of 
Proctor.  This  began  on  the  following  day,  ending  gloriously 
for  the  Americans  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames. 


Y. 

LETTERS   OF   WILLIAM   CHARLES   MICKLE. 
[Ante,  pp.  80o,  321,  322,  333.] 

I. 

Amherstburg,  Jan.  lot,  1887. 
Mr.  C.  W.  BuUerfield. 

Dear  Sir; — My   two  youngest  brothers,  George  L.  and 
Alexander  Mickle,  live  on  the  [Simon  Girty]  farm  and  own  it. 

You   want  to  know   if    it  is   true  Simon   Girty's  widow 
brough.  suit  for  dower  against  me ?    It  is  true  she  brought  suit 


Appendix   Y.  393 


for  (lower,  but  olie  did  not  bring  it  against  me  ;  she  brought  it 
against  my  father  ;  his  name  was  Willinm  Micklc.  He  has  been 
dead  a  number  of  years  and  there  is  no  one  as  I  know  of  who 
knows  any  thing  about  it.  There  is  no  one  I  am  acquainted 
with  who  knows  Mrs.  Girty's  age,  or  when  she  was  married. 
But  my  mother  in-law,  who  is  one  of  the  oUlest  women  in  the 
county  being  nearly  ninety,  says  she  thinks  Girty  and  his 
wife  were  married  in  Detroit,  but  she  is  not  sure ;  as  for  her 
(Mrs.  Girty's)  nge  she  (mother-in-law)  does  not  know  any 
thing  about  it.  She  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians 
during  the  Revolutionary  War ;  she  does  not  know  whether 
she  was  a  child  or  a  young  womiin  when  she  was  captured. 
My  mother-in-law  thinks  it  would  have  been  as  well  if  she  had 
staid  among  the  Indians  instead  of  marrying  Girty,  for  he 
used  to  take  his  sword  and  hii  her  alongside  the  head  just 
for  fun. 

Mrs.  Girty's  maiden  name  was  Catharine  Malott. 

As  near  as  my  mother-in-law  knows,  Girty  died  some  time 
either  in  1816  or  1817. 

Mrs.  Girty  brought  suit  for  her  dower  at  Sandwich,  but  I 
do  not  know  who  her  lawyer  was. 

I  do  not  know  whether  her  declaration  is  on  file  or  not. 

I  suppose  you  have  hoard  of  Girty's  activity.  My  mother- 
in-law  says  her  father  knew  Girty  and  said  he  (Girty)  jumped 
over  a  very  high  gate  and  broke  his  ankle  and  never  was  so 
active  afterwards ;  but  I  suppose  you  have  heard  all  about  his 
activity.  He  (my  mother-in-law's  father)  said  Girty  could 
drink  the  most  whisky  of  any  man  he  knew  of. 

Yours  Very  truly, 

WiLUA.M  Charles  Mickle. 


II. 

Amiierstmurg,  Jati.  21«/,  1887. 
Mr.  C.  W.  Butterfield. 

Dear  Sir: — The  house  that  Simon  Girty  lived  in  has  dis- 
appeared.    As  near  as  I  can  remember  it  w.as  a  log  house 


394  History  of  the  (iirtys. 


with  two  windows  and  u  door  in  front  find  one  window  in  the 
«nd  up-stairs. 

My  mother-in-lttw  says  that  Mrs,  Girty  had  not  been  living 
with  Girty  for  sometime ;  but  when  he  got  sick  and  blind  she 
went  and  took  care  of  him  at  her  son  Pridcaux'.  She  (my 
raother-inlaw)  saya  Mrs.  Girty  died  in  Colchester  South  at 
Mr.  Joseph  Munger's,  but  she  does  not  know  in  what  year. 

My  mother-in-law's  full  name  is  Susan  Arner  and  her 
father's  was  Jacob  Ilcr. 

Mrs.  Girty  did  not  succeed  in  her  suit  against  ray  father 
for  dower.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  records  were  burned 
or  not.  Yours  Very  Truly, 

William  C.  Micklk. 


Z. 

IMIBLISHKD    K8TIMATES    OF    SIMON    rtlRTY. 
[Aiitf,  pp.  8-.»6-827.] 

A  diversity  of  opinion  has  heretofore  existed  as  to  the  acts 
of  Simon  Girty  during  the  Revolution  and  the  Indian  war 
which  followed.  Speaking  of  him,  a  recent  Canadian  writer 
aays :  "  The  life  and  bloody  record  of  this  man  are  made 
famous  not  only  in  history,  but  have  been  the  foundation  of 
many  contributions  to  our  literature ;  and  that  '■  truth  is 
stranger  than  fiction  *  is  amply  illustrated  by  his  many  daring 
adventures,  almost  superhuman  exploits,  and  miraculous 
«8capes  from  death  at.  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  the  fiendish  barbarity  which  some  historians 
attribute  to  this  man,  it  can  not  be  gainsaid  that  in  many  in- 
stances he  exhibited  a  degree  of  generosity  and  tender- 
heartedness and  gave  succor  to  those  in  distress  under  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  exercise  of  these  virtues  covered  a 
multitude  of  sins." 

Exceeding  any  thing  that  has  yet  been  said  in  praise  of 
<jirty,  is  the  panegyric  of  an  Ohio  poet,  who,  upon   reading 


Appendix  Z.  896 


an  account  of  a  noble  net  of  his  (but  which  account  whh,  in 
fact,  fictitious),  gives  vent  to  his  feelings  in  these  words  : 

Oh,  great'gouled  chief! — go  long  maligii'd 
•  By  bold  calumniatorf" ; 

Tho  world  ghall  not  be  always  blind, 

Nor  all  men  be  thy  haterg.  .:      . 

If  ever  on  the  field  of  blood,  . 

Man'g  valor  meritg  jjlory,  ». 

Then  Girty'g  name  and  (iirty's  fame 

Shall  shine  in  song  and  story. 

But,  in  censure  of  Girty,  far  more  has  been  written  (how 
justly  or  unjustly  let  the  previous  pages  disclose)  than  in 
praise.  "  Girty  became  an  Indian  by  adoption — acquired 
their  habits — participated  in  their  deliberations — inflamed 
their  passions — and  goaded  them  on  to  deeds  of  human 
atrocity.  I  called  him  an  incendiary.  He  was  worse — 
he  was  a  monster.  No  famished  tiger  ever  sought  the 
blood  of  a  victim  Avith  more  unrelenting  rapacity,  than 
Girty  sought  the  blood  of  a  white  man.  lie  could  laugh,  in 
fiendish  mockery,  at  the  agonies  of  a  captive,  burning  and 
writhing  at  the  stake.  He  could  witness,  unmoved,  the  sacri- 
fice of  unoffending  women  and  children.  No  scene  of  torture 
or  of  bloodshed  was  sufficiently  horrible  to  excite  compassion 
in  his  bosom." — James  T.  Morehead,  in  "An  Address  in  Com- 
memoration of  the  First  Settlement  of  Kentucky,"  p.  90. 

And  a  versifier  has  condemned  him  in  the  most  forcible  in- 
fective, as — 

The  outlawed  white  man,  by  Ohio's  flood. 

Whose  Tengeance  shamed  the  Indian's  thirst  for  blood  ; 

Whose  hellish  arts  surpassed  the  redmun's  far; 

Whose  hate  enkindled  many  a  border  war, 

Of  which  each  aged  grand-dame  hath  a  tale, — 

Of  which  man's  bosom  burns  and  childhood's  cheek  grow'*  pale  I 

"A  wretched  miscreant,  named  Simon  Girty,  was  another 
agent  in  these  nefarious  proceedings  [marauds  into  the  border 
settlements  during  the  Revolution] — a  native  of  one  of  tho 
British  colonies, — who,  in  consequence  of  his  crimes,  or  of 
some  injury  which  he  supposed  himself  to  have  received,  had 


896  Hinlory  of  the  Oirfi/K 


fled  from  the  abode  of  civilized  men  ;  lie  became  a  sftvnge  in 
maiinery  and  in  principle,  and  spent  his  whole  life  in  the  per- 
petration of  a  demoniac  vengeance  against  his  countrymen. 
lie  planned  many  expeditions  against  our  [the  American] 
borders,  some  of  which  he  led  in  person ;  was  present  at  the 
conflagration  of  the  settler's  cabin,  witnessed  the  expiring 
agonies  of  the  mother  and  the  infant,  and  assisted  in  the 
dreadful  solemnities  which  attend  the  torturing  of  a  pris- 
one  j^  the  stake.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  unhappy  victims 
appcaii  i.  to  his  humanity;  a  single  instance  only  is  known 
[the  saving  the  life  of  Simon  Kenton  is  here  referred  to],  in 
which  he  suffered  the  dictates  of  pity  to  actuate  his  conduct; 
with  the  same  cold  indifference  or  hellish  malignity,  did  ho 
witness  the  butchery  of  the  infant,  the  murder  of  the  tender 
woman,  and  the  excruciating  torture  of  the  gallant  soldier." 
— The  Romance  of  Western  History,  p.  288. 

"  Several  persons  who  had  lived  among  the  Indians  were 
.  .  .  employed  by  Hamilton  to  instigate  them  to  hos- 
tilities, and  among  then)  were  the  brothers  Simon,  George, 
and  James  Qirty,  who  were  regularly  paid  as  British  agents 
at  Detroit,  and  who  personally  took  part  in  raids  upon  the 
settlements.  The  monstrous  barbarities  of  some  of  these 
men  almost  stagger  belief,  a-nd  force  upon  us  the  unwelcome 
truth  that  in  civilized  society,  and  within  the  sound  of  Chrib- 
tian  bells,  there  may  be  bred  and  reared  savages  as  fiendish 
in  their  cruelty  as  any  the  world  has  ever  known,  Hamilton, 
in  his  dispatches  to  his  superiors,  gave  tliem  to  understand 
that  he  should  »end  out  parties  of  Indians  '  to  fall  on  the 
scattered  settlers  on  the  Ohio  and  its  branches,'  and  he  se- 
lected to  lead  these  raids  fit  instruments  who  would  be 
troubled  by  no  compunctions  and  no  emotions  of  pity  in 
making  the  work  of  destruction  complete." — Cooley's  History 
of  Michigan,  pp.  91,  92. 

"  No  other  country  or  age  ever  produced,  perhaps,  so 
brutal,  depraved,  and  wicked  a  wretch  as  Simon  Girty.  He 
was  sagacious  and  brave ;  but  his  sagacity  and  bravery  only 
made  him  a  greater  monster  of  cruelty.     All  of  the  vices  of 


Appendix  A  A.  897 


civiliziition  Hcemcd  to  center  in  him,  and  by  liim  wcro  in- 
grafted upon  tiioHO  of  the  8iivtij»o  stiito,  witliout  the  usual 
redeeming  (juiilities  of  either.  He  moved  about  tliroujjh  the 
Indian  country  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  In- 
dian war  which  followed,  a  dark  wliirlwind  of  tury,  despera- 
tion, and  barbarity.  In  the  relinenients  of  torture  inUictod 
on  helpless  prisoners,  as  compared  with  the  Indians,  he  '  out- 
*•  'oded  Herod.'     In  treachery  lie  stood  unrivaled. 

"  There  ever  rankled  in  his  bosom  a  most  deadly  hatred  of 
his  country.  IIo  seemed  to  revel  in  the  very  excess  of  ma- 
lignity toward  his  old  associates.  St  horriti  was  his  wild  fe- 
rocity and  savageness,  that  the  least  relenting  seemed  to  be 
acts  of  positive  goodness — luminous  sparks  in  the  very  black- 
ness of  darkness  !  *  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance,'  said 
the  Mingo  Logan,  when  ho  had  taken  a  scalp  for  each  of  his 
relations  murdered ;  but  the  revenge  of  Simon  Girty  was 
gorged  with  numberless  victims  of  all  ages  and  of  either  se.K ! 
It  seemed  as  insatiable  as  the  grave  itself." — An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Expedition  against  Sandusky,  under  Col. 
William  Crawford,  in  1782,  pp.  1U9,  200. 


AA. 

JAMES   OIRTY's   will. 

[Antp,  p.  ;n«t.] 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen. 

I,  James  Girty,  of  the  Township  of  Gosfield,  in  the  County 
of  Essex,  in  the  Western  District  of  Upper  Canada,  yeoman, 
being  of  sound  mind  and  memory  but  considering  the  uncer- 
tainty of  human  life,  do  make  this  my  Last  Will  and  in  manner 
following,  to  wit : 

My  desire  is  to  be  buried  at  as  little  expense  as  decency 
will  permit  and  after  the  paying  of  all  my  just  debts  and  fu- 
neral expenses,  I  make  the  following  disposition  of  all  my 
property  real  and  personal. 

To  my  son  James  Girty  and  to  my  daughter  Ann  or  Nancy 


898  IliHtory  of  the  Oirfi/H. 


Girty  who  are  both  now  living  with  nic,  I  give  and  doviBO  all 
my  lands  and  tenements  with  their  tippurtonancoH  nituate 
and  being  in  the  said  Township  of  GoHfield  and  known  by 
the  name  and  description  of  lot  nunibor  eiglit,  in  the  first 
Concession,  containing  two  hundred  acres  or  there  abouts,  to  be 
divided  between  them  in  the  following  manner,  namely:  by  a 
line  run  across  the  centre  of  the  said  lot  dividing  it  equally 
into  two  parts,  the  one  half  on  the  north  or  rear  of  the  said 
lot  and  the  other  half  on  the  south  or  front  of  said  lot. 

That  half  in  the  front  which  is  hounded  by  the  said  line  on 
the  north  and  by  Lake  Erie  on  the  south  I  give  and  devise  to 
my  said  son  James,  and  the  other  half  in  the  rear  and  on  the 
north  side  of  the  said  line,  I  give  and  devise  to  my  said 
daughter  Nancy  and  to  their  respective  heirs  forever. 

I  also  bequeath  to  my  said  son  James  the  following  six 
negro  slaves  or  such  of  them  as  may  be  living  at  the  time  of 
my  death,  viz  :  Jim  or  James,  Hannah,  Joe,  Jack,  Betsy  and 
Tom,  and  also  the  children  which  may  hereafter  be  born  of  the 
said  Ilannnh  and  Betsy.  And  to  my  daughter  I  bequeath  my 
negro  wench  called  Sail,  and  also  a  negro  woman  called  Nancy 
with  her  five  children,  which  said  Nancy  was  the  property  of 
the  mother  of  my  said  children  and  intended  by  her  for  my  said 
daughter  and  also  the  children  who  may  hereafter  be  born 
of  their  bodies  or  the  bodies  of  their  children  respectively; 
And  as  to  all  the  remaining  part  of  the  personal  property 
which  I  may  die  possessed  of,  including  household  furniture, 
cattle,  horses,  swine,  poultry,  money,  grain  and  all  other  de- 
scriptions of  personal  property,  and  also  all  the  cattle  and 
other  stock  which  was  the  property  of  my  deceased  wife  Bet- 
sey, an  Indian  woman  and  the  mother  of  my  said  children,  and 
also  the  increase  thereof,  my  will  is  that  the  same  and  every 
part  thereof  shall  be  equally  divided  between  my  said  son  and 
daughter  share  and  share  alike  according  to  the  judgment  of 
my  executors  hereinafter  named,  except  the  utensils  of  hus- 
bandry, which  I  give  to  my  said  son  James  for  his  own  proper 
use  and  benefit,  and  except  also  my  negro  slave  Paul,  whose 


Appendix  HIi.  899 


froedoin  I  livrohy  hoquoiUli  to  hint  for  IiIh  long  nnd  fnithfu) 
8ervice». 

And  I  do  licruhy  Momiiiiitc  iitid  appoint  Mr.  TiConard  Scratch 
nnd  Mr.  JuniuH  Stewart,  both  of  tho  snid  Township,  yeomen^ 
ExccutorH  of-  thiH  my  Lant  Will  and  Testament,  hereby  revok- 
ing all  former  wills  by  me  made. 

In  witness  whereof,   I,  the    sai<l  Jumes  (Jirty,  to  this  ray 
Last  will  and  Testament,  have  set  my  hand  and  seal  this 
day  of  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hun- 

dred and  four,  and  in  the  forty  fotirth  year  of  His  Majesty'* 
reign.  Jamkh  Gikty  [h.  a.]. 

Signed,  Sealed,  Published  and  Declared  by  the  said  James 
Girty  testator  as  and  for  his  Last  Will  and  Testament  in  the 
presence  of  us,  who,  at  his  request  and  in  his  presence  and  in 
tho  presence  of  each  other,  have  hereunto  subscribed  our 
names  as  witnesses.  T.  McKee,  T.  Alex.  Clarke,  Geo.  Iron- 
side. 


BB. 

.louN  ti'knkk's  will. 

LAi.f,  ,..  :WJ.] 

In  the  name  of  God,  Amen. 
-  I,  John  Turner,  of  the  Township  of  Peebles,  County  of  Al- 
legheny and  State  of  Pennsylvania,  yeoman,  being  weak  in  body 
but  sound  in  memory,  mind  and  understanding,  blessed  be  the 
Almighty  for  the  same,  but  considering  the  uncertainty  of  this 
life  and  the  certainty  of  death  do  make  and  publish  this  my 
last  will  and  testament  in  manner  and  form  following :  First 
of  all  I  commend  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  my  God  who  gave 
it  and  my  body  to  the  earth  to  be  buried  in  the  burying  ground 
on  my  own  farm  in  a  decent,  Christian-like  manner  at  tho  dis- 
cretion of  my  Executors  hereafter  mentioned. 

item  fint.     As  to  my  worldly  affairs,  it  is  my  will  and  I  do 
order  that  all  my  just  debts  and  funeral  Expences  be  duly. 


400  History  of  the  Girty», 

paid  and  satisfied  as  soon  as  it  can  be  conveniently  done  after 
my  decease. 

2tidli/.  1  give  and  bequeath  the  upper  part  of  ray  tract  of 
land  where  I  now  reside  and  adjoining  the  land  I  sold  to  John 
•Patterson  containing  one  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  be  the 
same  more  or  less  to  the  children  of  John  McCaslin  and  Pris- 
cilla  his  wife,  only  that  they,  said  John  McCaslin  and  Priscilla 
his  wife,  are  to  have  and  to  hold  the  said  tract  of  land  with  all 
the  improvements  thereon  during  their  natural  lives  unless  that 
death  should  occur  to  either  the  said  John  or  Priscilla  his  wife 
and  the  survivor  should  marry  again,  then  in  such  case  their 
right,  title,  claim  and  interest  shall  expire  and  the  said  land 
so  described  become  invested  and  divided  equal  share  and 
share  to  each  of  said  children  as  'aforesaid  the  same  as  if  both 
their  parents  were  dead  or  deceased.  I  give  unto  my  nephew 
Breden  [Prideaux]  Girty,  son  of  Simon  Girty,  one  thousand 
Dollars,  unto  my  niece  Sarah  Girty  alias  Ssrah  Munger  one 
thousand  Dollars,  unto  John  Girty  five  hundred  Dollars,  being 
the  son  of  Thomas  Girty  deed.  I  give  unto  Nancy  Gibson, 
sister  of  John  Girty,  one  hundred  dolliVfi,  and  one  dollar  to 
Catherine  Bealer  ;  and  for  the  attendance  and  friendship  I  have 
received  of  Joseph  Hunger,  I  will  and  Lsqueath  him  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  I  do  reserve  free  of  all  encumbrance  the  burying 
ground  for  use  of  the  public  forever  and  when  all  ray  debts 
and  funeral  expences  are  paid  and  all  the  legatees  are  settled 
with,  all  of  my  effects  whether  personal,  mixed,  or  real  estate, 
shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Arthur  F.  Gore  to  be  distrib- 
uted as  he  shall  think  proper  without  any  reserve. 

Lastly.  I  nominate,  constitute  and  appoint  my  much  esteemed 
friends  James  Sutch  and  John  Patterson  to  be  my  Executors  of 
this  my  last  will  and  testament  hereby  revoking  all  other  wills, 
legacies  and  bequeaths  by  me  heretofore  made  and  declaring 
this  ray  last  will  and  testament. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  set  my  hand  and  seal  the  10th 
<lay  of  April,  1840.  John  Turner  [Seal]. 

Signed,  sealed  in  presence  of  us, 

Abe  Hosmer. 
Thos.  B.  Sutoh. 


Appendix  CO.  401 


00. 

SIMON   GIRTY    AND   BOY    PRISONERS. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  kindness  of  Simon  Girty 
to  boy  prisoners.  But  all  these  statements  are  to  be  taken 
with  some  grains  of  allowance.  We  have  shown  that,  in  his 
first  incursion  with  the  savages,  he  assisted  in  taking  a  num- 
ber of  children  captives,  among  which,  it  is  almost  certain 
there  were  boys.  These  were,  beyond  all  question,  adopted 
into  Indian  families,  and  it  is  quite  probable  some  of  them 
led,  ever  after,  the  lives  of  savages.  There  was  no  kindness 
in  this.  In  saving  the  life  of  young  Baker  (ante,  p.  127),  he 
performed  a  noble  act — more  so  than  when  he  rescued  Simon 
Kenton  from  the  stake  ;  for  there  were  no  inducements  except 
humanity  moving  him  in  the  former  case  ;  in  the  latter  he  was 
befriending  an  old  associate.  So,  for  that  act,  he  is  entitled 
to  credit ;  also  for  his  kind  treatment  of  young  Fast  (ante, 
p.  152).  We  will  now  relate  an  incident  which  certainly  is 
not  to  Girtv's  discredit. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  forays  of  the  savages  continued  into 
the  border  settlements  for  a  considerable  time  after  DePeyster 
had  let  it  be  known  among  all  the  western  tribes  that  hostilities 
must  cease.  "  This  moment,"  wrote  Lieut.-Col.  Stephen  Bay- 
ard, from  Fort  Pitt,  to  Gen.  Irvine,  then  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1783,  "  I  was  informed  by  a  man  from  the 
widow  Myers'  [in  Westmoreland  county,  east  of  Pittsburgh], 
that  one  Thomas  Lyon,  who  lived  about  four  miles  from  her 
house,  was  yesterday  killed  and  scalped."  (Washington-Irvine 
Correspondence,  p.  409.)  Two  of  the  children  of  the  man 
killed,  Eli  and  James,  were  captured  and  hurried  into  the 
Ohio  wilderness.  The  savages  who  did  this  work  were  Dela- 
wares,  and  they  soon  reached  Wingenund's  camp  n  the  San- 
dusky with  their  boy  prisoners.  (For  the  exact  locality  of  that 
Delaware  war-chiefs  camp,  see  An  Historical  Account  of  the 
Expedition  against  Sandusky,  p.  168). 
26 


402  History  of  the  Qirtys. 

The  youngest  of  the  boys — James — in  a  narrative  published 
by  himself  many  years  after,  says : 

"  The  first  town  [Wingenund's]  we  came  to  was  small ;  they 
[the  warriors]  had  stretched  my  father's  and  my  sister's  scalps 
(as  we  thought  one  was  ray  sister's  and  the  other  my  father's, 
both  had  bhvck  hair),  on  small  hoops  painted  red,  and  then  at- 
tached them  to  long  poles,  also  painted  red.  The  Indians 
fired  off  their  guns  and  raised  the  war-whoop,  and  held  up  the 
poles  which  had  the  scalps  tied  to  them.  A  number  of  the 
Indians  of  the  village  came  out  to  visit  us  and  escorted  us  in. 
We  had  not  been  long  in  camp  until  they  commenced  smoking, 
and  amongst  those  that  visited  us  was  a  white  man.  Imme- 
diately on  his  coming  into  camp,  I  went  up  to  him  and  he 
took  me  on  his  knee.  I  was  glad  to  see  a  white  man.  Ho 
kept  me  all  the  time  on  his  knee  while  he  staid,  and  treated 
me  kindly.  When  he  got  up  to  go  away  I  wanted  to  go  with 
him.  He  had  no  other  way  of  getting  me  pacified  but  by 
promising  to  come  and  see  me  again,  but  that  was  the  last  I 
saw  of  him.  My  brother  told  me>  that  he  was  Simon  Girty, 
that  he  had  seen  him  frequently  at  my  grandmother  Myers* 
tavern,  where  we  both  often  visited." 

The  two  boys  were  afterward  sent  in  to  Fort  Mcintosh, 
reaching  that  post  in  the  winter  of  1784-85,  and  delivered  to 
their  relatives  in  Westmoreland  county.  Their  sister  was  not 
killed,  as  the  boys  had  supposed,  but  their  father  was  captured, 
taken  into  the  woods  and  tomahawked.  (Compare  the  Olden 
Time,  Vol.  II,  pp.  87-92.)  This  treatment  of  James  was  a 
pleasant  act  of  the  renegade,  but  it  will  be  noticed  it  only  ex- 
tended to  caressing  the  boy  a  short  time — he  made  no  attempt 
to  rescue  the  two  from  captivity. 

"  I  knew  Simon  Girty  to  purchase,  at  his  own  expense, 
several  boys  who  were  prisoners,  take  them  to  the  British  and 
have  them  educated." — Jonathan  Alder,  cited  in  Howe's  Hist. 
Coll.  of  Ohio,  p.  249.  This  is  a  very  positive  declaration,  not- 
withstanding which,  it  is  certainly  error.  Girty,  in  the  In- 
dian country,  had  no  means  wherewith  to  purchase  "several 
boys  who  were  prisoners,"  nor  had  he  the  money  to  pay  for 


Appendix  DD.  403 


educating  them.  Besides,  there  were  no  schools  nearer  than 
the  Sj;.  Lawrence  for  the  education  of  children  during  that 
period. 

Faint  is  the  praise  due  Girty  for  treating  young  Burkhart 
kindly,  while  at  the  same  time  making  a  captive  of  him.  And, 
so  far  as  he  knew,  he  was  consigning  him  to  years  of  savage 
life ;  for  he  did  not  believe,  it  will  be  remembered  (ante,  p. 
210),  that  there  was  peace  between  the  two  countries  when 
the  boy  was  taken.  And  to  young  Spencer,  he  gave  no  hope 
of  ever  being  released  from  captivity  (ante,  p.  270). 


DD. 

♦*  SIMON  GIRTY  "  IN  A  CYCLOP(EDIA. 

Girty,  Simon,  leader  of  Indians,  b.  in  Pennsylvania  about 
1750 ;  d.  about  1815.  His  father  had  died  and  his  mother 
had  married  again,  when  in  1755  the  whole  family  were  taken 
captive  by  Indians,  and  the  step-father  was  burned  at  the 
stake.  .Simon  remained  a  prisoner  till  1758,  when  he  was  re- 
leased. In  1774  he  was  a  soldier  and  spy  under  Lord  Dun- 
more  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  a  friend  and  companion  of  Simon 
Kenton.  Being  an  active  loyalist,  he  left  Pennsylvania  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution,  became  a  leader  of  the  savages, 
and  was  concerned  in  many  atrocities.  It  is  not  known 
whether  he  was  given  a  British  commission.  He  had  been 
held  a  prisoner  by  the  Whigs,  at  Pittsburg,  but  escaped,  col- 
lected about  400  Indian  warriors,  in  the  summer  of  1777,  and 
in  September  attacked  Fort  Henry  (now  Wheeling,  W.  Va.), 
which  was  garrisoned  by  about  forty  men.  After  defeating, 
with  great  slaughter,  a  reconnoitering  party,  and  reducing  the 
garrison  to  twelve  men,  he  made  a  demand  for  its  surrender, 
but  was  refused.  The  Indians  now  laid  siege  to  the  fort,  but, 
as  they  had  no  artillery,  the  garrison  held  its  own  until  it  was 
relieved  next  day  by  forty  mounted  men.  In  1778,  with  two 
other  Tories,  Girty  went  through  the  Indian  country  to  De- 
troit, urging  the  savages  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Ameri- 


404  History  of  the  Oirtys. 

cans.  He  was  present  at  the  torture  and  death  of  Col.  William 
Crawford,  in  1782,  and  is  charged  with  showing  delight  at  his 
BuflFerings  ;  but  Girty  averred  that  he  did  what  he  could  to  save 
Crawford's  life.  Subsequently,  when  his  old  associate,  Simon 
Kenton,  was  captureJ  by  the  Indians,  Girty  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  to  save  him  from  torture,  and  succeeded  in  ef- 
fecting his  release.  In  August,  1782,  Girty  invaded  Kentucky 
and  with  600  savages  made  an  attack  on  Bryant's  station,  near 
Lexington,  which  was  garrisoned  by  about  fifty  men.  After 
an  unsuccessful  ambuscade  Girty  laid  siege  to  the  fort  till 
the  approach  of  re-enforcements  under  Daniel  Boone  caused 
him  to  retreat.  He  was  rapidly  pursued,  and  the  battle  of  the 
Blue  Licks  followed,  in  which  many  of  the  Kentucky  leaders 
lost  their  lives.  This  was  the  last  great  Indian  battle  on 
Kentucky  soil.  In  the  same  year  Girty  was  active  in  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Moravian  missionaries  who  had  been  laboring 
quietly  among  the  Wyandottes.  He  lived  for  some  time  on 
Sandusky  river,  where  he  had  established  a  trading-station, 
and  planned  and  led  many  marauding  excursions.  He  was 
present  at  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair's  defeat  in  1791,  and  directed 
a  savage  to  kill  and  scalp  Gen.  Richard  Butler,  who  lay 
wounded  on  the  field.  Girty  acted  as  interpreter  to  the  com- 
missioners that  were  appointed  by  the  U.  S.  government  to 
meet  the  Indians  in  1793,  and  treated  them,  with  insolence, 
finally  securing  the  failure  of  the  negotiations.  He  also  aided 
the  British  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  is  said  by  some  authorities 
to  have  been  killed  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  in  1813,  while 
others  say  he  died  a  natural  death  two  years  afterwards. — Ap- 
pleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography  (1887),  Vol.  II, 
p.  662. 


Appendix  EE.  405 


EE. 

ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES,  ALSO  EXTRACTS  FROM  PRINTED   ACCOUNTS, 
CONCERNING  THE   GIRTYS. 


now    LIKUT.-GOVKRNOR  HAMILTON  RESTRAINED  THE  INDIANS. 

[Ante,  pp.  42,  342-344.] 

"  The  opening  of  the  Revolution  brought  evil  times  to  the 
American  frontiers.  The  Indians,  supplied  with  English  arms, 
and  led  by  men  in  English  pay,  carried  devastation  every- 
where. I  am  aware  that  bills  authorizing  the  employment  of 
Indians  were  repeatedly  defeated  in  Parliament,  and  that  Brit- 
ish officers  claimed  that  the  natives  were  driven  to  war  by  the 
cruel  wrongs  inflicted  on  them  by  Americans ;  but  these  were 
the  orders :  '  It  is  the  King's  command  that  you  should  direct 
Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  to  assemble  as  many  of  the 
Indians  of  his  district  as  he  conveniently  can,  and  placing  a 
proper  person  at  their  head,  to  conduct  their  parties,  and  re- 
strain them  from  committing  violence  on  the  well-affected,  in- 
offensive inhabitants,  exmploy  them  in  making  a  diversion  and 
exciting  an  alarm  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylva- 
nia '  (Lord  George  Germaine  to  Sir  Guy  Carletori,  March  26, 
1776 :  Haldimand  Coll.).  Such  proper  persons  as  Simon 
Girty,  William  Lamothe,  Joseph  Brant,  and  others,  were  em- 
ployed by  Hamilton  as  leaders  of  these  parties,  ahd,  in  order 
to  restrain  them  still  further,  he  offered  a  premium  for  the 
scalps  of  Americans  (Jefferson's  Works,  Vol.  I,  p.  456)." — 
Dunn's  Indiana,  p.  131.  [Brant  was  not  employed  by  Hamil- 
ton, and  the  latter  did  not  offer  a  premium  for  scalps,  but 
he  did  employ  such  improper  persons  as  Girty  and  Lamothe 
*'  to  restrain  the  Indians  from  committing  violence  on  the 
well-affected  and  inoffensive  inhabitants,  as  Dunn  inferentially 
declares."] 


406  History  of  the  Girtys. 


II. 

"  oirty's  town." 
[Ante,  pp.  289,  290,  294,  296.] 
"  St.  Mary's  was  from  early  times  a  noted  point,  being  a  vil- 
lage of  the  Shawnees.  Gen.  Wayne  on  his  campaign  camped 
here  and  called  the  place  '  Qirty's  town,'  from  James  Girty,  a 
brother  of  Simon,  who  lived  here  with  the  Indians  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  place ;  Harmar  was  also  here  prior  to  Wayne. 
In  the  war  of  1812,  there  was  a  fort  at  St.  Mary's,  which  for 
a  time,  was  the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Harrison.  It  was 
called  Fort  Barbee  by  the  regiment  of  Col.  Barbee  which  built 
it.         .         .         . 

-  "  There  were  four  Girty  brothers,  Thomas,  George,  James 
and  Simon.  James  was  adopted  by  the  Shawnees,  George 
by  the  Delawares,  and  Simon  by  the  Scnecas.  James  was  the 
worst  renegade  of  them  all  and  took  delight  in  inflicting  the 
most  fiendish  cruelties  upon  prisoners,  sparing  neither  women 
nor  children.  Simon  was  the  most  conspicuous,  being  a  leader 
and  counsellor  among  the  Indians." — Howe's  Ohio  (Centennial 
Edition),  Vol.  I,  pp.  302,  303.  [But  "  Girty's  town  "  was  not 
named  by  Gen.  Wayne.] 

III. 

CLAKK's  attack  on   the  8HAWANESK   TOWN  OF  PIQUA. 

[Ante,  pp.  121,  122.] 

"  The  action  was  so  severe  a  short  time  before  the  close, 
that  Simon  Girty,  a  white  man  who  had  joined  the  Indians, 
and  who  was  made  a  chief  among  the  Mingoes,  drew  off  three 
hundred  of  his  men,  declaring  to  them  it  was  folly  in  the  ex- 
treme to  continue  the  action  against  men  who  acted  so  much 
like  madmen,  as  Gen.  Clark's  men,  for  they  rushed  in  the  ex- 
treme of  danger,  with  a  seeming  disregard  of  the  conse- 
quences. This  opinion  of  Girty,  and  the  withdrawal  of  the 
three  hundred  Mingoes,  so  discouraged  the  rest  that  the  whole 
body  soon  after  dispersed." — Bradford's  Notes  on  Kentucky. 
[The  only  statement  in  this  account  of  the  attack  of  Clark  on 


Appendix  HE.  407 


the  Indian  town  of  Piqua,  that  is  not  erroneous,  is  the  one 
made,  by  inference,  that  Girty  then  had  his  home  with  the 
Mingoes.] 

IV. 

BKIKK    HldOKAFHY   OF    SIMON    OIRTY    FROM     UIS   BIRTH    TO  THE  TORTURING 

OF  CRAWFORD. 

[Prom  Wnshington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  127.] 

"  Simon  Girty  was  born  on  an  island  in  the  Susquehanna 
river  in  the  then  province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  when  a  boy 
was  captured  by  the  savages,  and  adopted  by  the  Seneca  tribe 
of  Indians.  He  afterward  returned  to  the  settlements,  lo- 
cating at  Pittsburgh.  He  fled  to  the  enemy  across  the  Ohio, 
along  with  Alexander  McKee  and  others,  in  the  spring  of 
177^.  Arriving  at  Detroit,  he  was  engaged  in  the  Indian 
department  and  sent  back  into  the  Ohio  wilderness  with  his 
headquarters  among  the  Wyandots,  upon  the  Sandusky  river. 
He  immediately  entered  upon  a  career  of  savage  ferocity 
against  the  border  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and 
Kentucky.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  the  4th  of  Juno,  1782, 
between  the  volunteers  under  Crawford  and  the  enemy,  taking 
part  with  the  latter,  and  was  present  ...  at  the  tortur- 
ing of  the  unfortunate  colonel.  He  had  no  commission  in  the 
British  service.  He  and  Crawford  were  well  acquainted." 
The  principal  errors  in  this  extract  are  (1),  in  giving  Girty's 
birth-place  as  "on  an  island  in  the  Susquehanna  river,"  and 
(2),  in  stating  by  inference,  that  he  went  at  once  to  live  with 
the  Wyandots  after  being  "sent  back  into  the  Ohio  wil- 
derness." 


MAJOR    WILLIAM     CROQUAN'S    RECOLLKCTION    OF    WHAT    DR.   KNIGHT    TOLD 
HIM    AS   TO  girty's  COURSE  AT  THE   BURNING   OF  CRAWFORD. 

"  We  had  no  certainty  of  this  unhappy  affair  until  yester- 
day, when  Doctor  Knight,  who  was  taken  with  Crawford,  came 
into  the  garrison,  in  the  most  deplorable  condition  man  could 


408  History  of  the  Oirtyt. 


be  in  iind  bo  alive.  He  says  that  the  second  day  after  they 
were  taken,  they  were  carried  to  an  Indian  town,  stripped  and 
then  blacked,  and  made  to  march  through  the  Indians,  when 
men,  women  and  chihlren  beat  them  with  clubs,  sticks,  fists, 
etc.,  in  the  most  cruel  manner. 

"Colonel  Crawford  and  the  doctor  were  confined  together 
all  night.  The  next  day,  they  were  taken  out,  blacked  again, 
and  their  hands  tied  behind  their  backs,  when  Colonel  Craw- 
ford was  led  by  a  long  rope  to  a  high  stake,  to  the  top  of 
which  the  rope  about  the  colonel  was  tijed.  All  around  the 
stake  a  great  quantity  of  red  hot  coals  were  laid,  on  which 
the  poor  colonel  was  obliged  to  walk  barefoot,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  Indians  firing  squibs  of  powder  at  him,  while  others 
poked  sticks  (on  fire)  into  every  part  of  his  body ;  thus  they 
continued  torturing  him  for  about  two  hours,  when  he  begged 
of  Simon  Girty,  a  white  renegade,  who  was  standing  by,  to 
shoot  him,  when  the  fellow  said,  '  don't  you  see  I  have  no 
gun  ?'  Some  little  time  after  this  they  scalped  him,  and  struck 
him  on  the  bare  skull  several  times  with  sticks,  and  being 
nearly  exhausted  he  lay  down  on  the  burning  embers,  when 
squaws  put  shovelsful  of  coals  on  his  body,  which,  dying  as 
he  was,  made  him  move  and  creep  a  little ;  the  doctor  was 
obliged  to  stand  by  to  see  this  cruelty  performed." — Cro- 
ghan  to  William  Davies,  Virginia  Secretary  at  War,  July  6, 
1782.  See  American  Historical  Record,  Vol.  I,  p.  176 ;  also 
Washington-Irvine  Correspondence,  p.  293,  note.  Compare 
pp.  180-182,  ante. 

VI. 

FIKBT   PUBLISHBD   ACCOUNT  OF   SIMON   OIRTY's   BRU&VIOK  AT  THK  TOKTUBi- 
INQ  Olf   COLONKL  CBAWKORD. 

•'  Dr.  Knight,  who  was  taken  with  Col.  Crawford  arrived 
here  after  living  for  21  days  upon  herbs  in  the  woods.  He 
says  that  five  days  after  they  were  taken  the  Delaware  Indi- 
ans burnt  the  Col.  with  the  most  excruciating  pain,  first  tied 
him  to  a  long  post  with  room  to  walk  round  it,  then  cut  ofi*  his 
ears,  after  that  blew  squibs  of  powder  on  diflferent  parts  of 


Appendix  EE.  409 


his  body  ;  then  the  squaws  procured  hickory  brands  and  dar 
against  such  parts  as  they  thought  might  most  affect  h 
they  then  scalped  him  and  slapped  the  scalp  in  the  Dr.'s  face,- 
told  him  that  was  his  big  captain  ;  the  Col.  was  still  alive. 
This  he  thinks  was  an  hour  after  the  Col.  was  tied  up,  when 
he  (the  Dr.)  was  taken  away.  Just  as  he  was  leaving  him 
the  Col.  leaned  upon  his  knee  and  elbow  for  rest,  when  a 
squaw  took  a  shovel  of  hot  embers  and  threw  upon  his  back 
to  put  him  again  in  motion.  The  next  day  under  the  guard 
of  one  man  the  Dr.  passed  the  same  place  and  saw  some  of 
the  Coi.'s  bones  in  the  ashes.  The  Col.,  ho  says,  made  little 
noise ;  he  begged  one  Simon  Girty,  Avhom  he  formerly  knew 
at  Fort  Pitt,  to  shoot  him,  but  Girty  said  with  a  laugh  he 
had  no  gun,  that  examples  must  take  place." — Pennsylvania 
Journal  and  Weekly  Advertiser,  July  23,  1782.  (See  Wash- 
ington-Irvine Correspondence,  p.  376,  note). 

VII. 

INDIANS   KMPLOYKU   BY   THK    UNITED  STATK8    IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 

[Allto,  p.  133.] 

"  Both  sides  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle  tried  to  employ 
the  Olijo  Indians.  The  British  were  most  active  and  most  suc- 
cessful in  this  enterprise.  A  party  of  Wyandots  under  Simon 
Girty,  an  ugly-spirited  ruffian  who  had  been  adopted  by  the  In- 
dians, and  was  now  in  British  pay,  made  a  memorable  attack  upon 
Fort  Henry,  on  the  Ohio  near  Wheeling,  but  was  cheated  of 
success  and  badly  disabled  after  a  desperate  struggle  during 
which  young  Elizabeth  Zane  performed  an  act  of  supreme 
heroism  in  securing  a  keg  of  powder  from  a  point  outside  the 
fort." — The  Story  of  Ohio,  by  Alexander  Black,  p.  74. 

The  United  States,  during  the  Revolution,  employed  sav- 
ages against  the  British  and  Indians,  it  is  true  (see  Washing- 
ton-Irvine Correspondence,  pp.  25,  26),  but  they  were  en- 
gaged in  the  regular  service ;  they  were  never  sent  on  forays 
into  Canadian  settlements,  to  kill  inoffensive  white  settlers,  as 
they  were  employed  to  do,  by  the  British,  on  the  American 


410  History  of  the  Oirtyt. 

border.  As  to  the  Elizabeth  Zano  incident  mentioned  by 
Bhick,  there  is  a  bitter  controversy  in  the  Pan-Handle  concern- 
ing who  was  the  heroine,  and  rehitivo  to  the  time  when  the 
affair  took  phice.  (Consult  Dellaas,  Hist.  Ind.  Wars  W.  Va.; 
Newton's  Hist.  Pan- Handle,  W.  Va.;  and  local  histories  of 
that  region  generally.) 

VIII. 

UPPKK   HIIAWaNKSK   towns   ON    MAD   UlVKll,  IN    THE    IIKVOI.UTION. 

[Anto,  pp.  78,  79-84.J 

Near  a  small  creek  emptying  into  Mad  river,  on  the  oast 
side,  there  was  a  small  Shawanese  village,  called  Wapakoneta, 
in  the  present  Salem  township,  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  south  of  the  present  West  Liberty,  in 
Logan  county.  The  next  town  was  Mac-a-cheek  ;  then  a  small 
one  called  Pigeon  town,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  three  miles 
north-west  of  Mac-a-cheek ;  then  Wapatomica,  below  what  is 
now  Zanesfield,  a  short  distance ;  then  Blue  Jacket's  town,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Bellefontaine.  Three  miles  north  of 
the  latter  was  a  Delaware  village — Buckongahelas'.  About 
nine  miles  above  Blue  Jacket's  village  was  Solomon's  town. 
When  it  said  (see  p.  82,  ante)  that  "  there  was  no  Wapakoneta 
in  existence  until  long  after  the  Revolution,"  reference  is  made 
to  the  present  town  of  that  name,  the  county-seat  of  Auglaize 
county,  Ohio,  where,  after  1780,  there  was  a  Shawanese  town. 
The  Wapakoneta  first  mentioned  above  was  an  insignificant 
Shawanese  village,  having  no  council-house  ;  and,  therefore,  it 
<50uld  not  have  been  the  town  where  Simon  Girty  first  met 
Kenton  in  the  Ohio  wilderness. 

IX. 

THOMAS  QIKTY  DKAL8   WITH  RICUAKD  AND  WILLIAM   BUTLER,  IN    1768- 

[Ante,  p.  22.] 

Alleghany  City,  Pa.,  June  ITth,  1875. 
Dear  Sir  :     In  overhauling  a  box  of  old  papers  belonging 
to    my   grandfather,    Major   Craig,    I   found    a   day-book    of 
Richard  and  William  Butler,  kept  at  Fort  Pitt.     In   it  is  an 


Appendix  EK.  411 

account  ngiiinut  Thomas  Girty.  Supposing  it  might  interest 
you,  I  enclose  you  a  copy.  Tliere  is  no  other  date  than  1768 
to  this  account.  Of  course  you  know  that  Richard  Butler  was 
Gen.  Butler,  who  fell  at  St.  Clair's  defeat,  and  that  William 
was  the  Colonel  of  the  Fourth  Pennsylvania  regiment,  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Yours,  truly, 

Isaac  Cbaio. 
To  C.  W.  Buttcrfield. 

'TllOMA'S   GeRTV 

In  acct.  with  Richard  &  William  Butler,  Dr. 
1768.  £ 

To  a  new  gun  stock  20«.,  to  a  lock  15«.,   to 

mounting  15«., 2     10 

"  a  new  breech  6».,  to  a  trigger  Is.  0(i.,  to  rifling 

12«.  Qd , 1  . 

"  a  trigger  plate  and  pin  2«.,  to  3  wood  screws 

at  18(f 4 

**  a  hind  sight  2«.,  to  a  silver  fore  do.  2«.  6rf....  4     6 

£3     18     6 

contra. 

By  100  lbs.  old  iron  at  Zd.  per  lb.  ...#.. 1       5 

"      16  lbs.  fall  skins   at  la.  7d.  per  lb 1       5     4 

"  a  bushel  of  potatoes  @  bs 5 

2     15    4 

By  balance  due  Richard  &  William  Butler, £  1       3    2 

X. 

"QIRTY'S   island" — PUBLISHED    ACCOUNTS. 

[Ante,  pp.  317,  318.] 

A. 

"Girty's  Island  is  seven  miles  above  Napoleon  [0.],  and 
comprises,  as  we  are  informed,  about  forty  acres.  The  soil 
is  remarkably  prolific,  and  an  extremely  dense  growth  of  veg- 


412  History  of  the  Girtyt. 


etation  is  tho  ro6uIt.  [Simon]  Girty's  cabin  was  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river ;  and  it  is  said  that  when  he  was  apprehen- 
sive of  a  surprise,  he  wouhl  retire  to  the  ishmd,  as  tho  tiger 
to  the  jungle,  with  a  sense  of  almost  absolute  security  from 
his  pursuers  [a  most  nonsensical  tradition].'- 

"■       .^  \  i.  •■.■-..■  '','"•' 

"  Girty's  island.  Six  miles  from  Napoleon,  up  tho  river 
[Maumec]  is  Girty's  Island,  so  called  from  tho  Great  Rene- 
gade [Simon  Girty],  who  once  lived  in  a  cabin  on  the  onpo- 
sito  shore.  Between  tho  village  and  the  island  is  an  uninter- 
rupted succession  of  beautiful  farms,  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  No  where  does  the  Maumee  present  a  more 
charming  appearance  than  on  tho  route  to  the  island.  The 
broad  and  deep  current  flows  between  high  banks,  which  are 
crowned  with  a  dense  growth  of  willows,  where  foliage,  at 
this  season,  is  of  the  brightest  green. 

The  island,  we  are  informed,  is  about  forty  acres  in  extent. 
A  small  portion  is  cultivated,  but  mueh  the  greater  part  is  a 
primeval  wilderness.  Viewed  from  tne  shore  it  would  seem 
that  neither  bird  nor  beast  could  penetrate  the  tangled  and 
interwoven  masses  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines  which  are  nur- 
tured by  its  fertile  soil.  Aside  from  its  great  natural  beauty, 
that  island  will  be  interesting  from  its  association." 

XI. 

nONCRRNINO  JOHN   TURNKR. 

[Ante,  [).  '245.] 
'*  There  is  a  curious  matter  relating  to  John  Turner,  aUa$ 
'  Girty.'  He  died  and  is  buried  near  here.  After  his  death, 
it  was  in  evidence  in  court,  that  he  was  a  full  brother  of 
Thomas,  Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty,  and  that  his  name 
'  Turner,'  was  adopted  after  Simon  and  his  two  brothers 
had  made  '  Girty '  unpopular.  I  have  very  little  doubt 
about  the  evidence  being  false.  The  descendants  of  Thomas 
Girty  were  trying  to  obtain  John  Turner's  property  from  his 
adopted  child,  the  defendant  in  the  suit." — Isaac  Craig  to  the 
author  of  this  narrative,  March  30,  1882,  from  Alleghany,  Pa. 


INDEX 


Abbott,  Lioiit.-Oov.  Edward,  (i3. 
Aldnr,  Joiintliuii,  402. 
All  FikCP,  uii  Iiidiaii  oiiiff,  .'{47. 
AmherHtl)urg,   215,   210,   219,   309, 

310,  322,  327,  391,  392,  393, 
Ariotne,  Baptisto,  234,  230,  237. 
Armstroii):,  Col,  .John,  8,  9,  12,  13. 
Armntrong,  Lit-ut.  Edward,  7. 
Arner,  tSiiHai),  394. 
Arundel,   a    trader,   145,    140,  148, 

149,  l.-iO,  151,  IfiO.  lO.'). 
Aatoii,  Ciipt.  (leo.,  30,  32. 
Haby,  Duperron,  03,  I  OS. 
Railey.  Francis,  157,  ;!07,  368. 
Riiker,  llonry,  127,  4Ul. 
Hull,  Il^nry,  27.3! 
Bane,  Capt.,  171. 
Barbee,  Col.,  400. 
Baron,  P.  H.,  Fr.  Dennis,  337. 
Bartlet,  .lames,  333. 
"  Battle  Island,"  167,  170. 
BaubeeC'Baby"),  Col.,  386. 
Bayard,  Lieut-Col.  Stepben,  401. 
Bealer,  Catliarino,  3:'.2,  400. 
Beaubin,  Cbarles,  03,  108. 
Betsey,  a  .Sbawanese  woman,  wife 

of  James  Cirty,  289. 
"Big  Foot,"  a  myth,  134,  1.3.^ 
Biggs,  Capt.,  171. 
Bird,  Capt.  Henry,  93,  94,  9,5,  96,  97, 

118,119,  120,122,123,  126. 
Blanch,  .Joseph,  291. 
Black  Wolf,  233. 
Black,  Alexander,  409. 
Blue  Jacket,  a  Shawanese  chief, 

261,268,290,296,  387. 
Blue    Jacket's    town    (near    Mad 

river),  410. 
Blue  Jacket's  town,  on  the  Mau- 

mee,  268,  273. 
Blue  Licks,  battle  of,  198-200,  205, 

379,  404. 
Blue  Licks,  campaign  of,  193-200, 

203-208,  373-377,  404. 
Bolton,  Maaon,  107, 
Boone,  Daniel,  199,  205,  206,  404. 
Bouquet,  Colonel  Henry,  114. 
Bouquet  Papers,  The,  378. 


Boundary    troubles    between    Pa. 

and  Va.,  23,  24,  .30,  31,  30. 
Bousman,  Lieut.  .lacob.  3'i. 
Bowman,  Col.  .lolin,  90,  97. 
Brackenridge,  11.  II.,  1.57,367,308, 

309,  370. 
Braddock's  defeat,  0. 
Bradt,  Capt.  Andrew,  192,  193,  200, 

201. 
Brady,  Samuel,  97,  98,  21 1,  212. 
Brainerd,  Kev.  David,  2. 
Brandon  (a  soldier),  killed,  S. 
Brant,  Cuj)t.  .Joseph  (Thayendano- 

gea),  129,   130,  131,  1.35,228,2.38, 

2H,  269,  287,  290,  314,  351,  352, 

387,  401,  405. 
Brenton,  .James,  107. 
Ibiekell,  John,  293,  294. 
Brod head.  Col.  Daniel,  87,95,  100, 

101,  104,  115,  124,  12.5,  120,  127 

128,  l.H  3.53,  3.54. 
Brown,  'riiomas,  300. 
Bryan's  Station,  123,  195,  198,  205, 

200,  374,  376,  404. 
Brymner,  Douglas,  377,  378,  379. 
Buckongahelas,  a  Delaware  ehief, 

2f.l. 
Buekongahelaa's  town,  382,  410. 
Bull,  Joseph,  57. 
Bunburv,  Capt.  Joseph,  263,  269. 
Burkhnrt,  John,  210,  403. 
Butler,  Richard,  37,  221,  224,  2.38, 

239,  200,  262,  263,  204,  404,  410, 

411. 
Butler,  Simon  (Simon  Kenton's  as- 
sumed name),  78. 
Butler,  William,  410,  411. 
Caldwell,  Capt.  William,  163,  107, 

173,  183,  191,  192,  193,  194,  195, 

197,  198,  200,  208,  216,  235,  373, 

374,  375,  376,  384,  386. 
Caldwell,  Francis,  305. 
Caldwell,  Lieut.,  63. 
Campbell,  John,  32. 
Campbell,  Judge  James  V.,  327. 
Campbell,  John  W.,  4,  314,  321,327. 
Campbell,  the  poet,  314. 

(413) 


414 


Index. 


Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  344,  349,  405. 

Carpenter,  John,  155. 

Cass,  Lew  is,  299. 

ChamberH,  .James,  382,  383. 

Chambers's  Mill,  2. 

Chapin,  Oon.,  279. 

Chesne,  Isidore,  t)3. 

Christian  Inclians.  See  "Moravian" 
Indians. 

Christy,  Lieut.  William,  32. 

Cist,  Charles.  1,  '.'57,  2)8,  331. 

<'incinnati  founded,  258. 

Claphani,  Col.  William,  8. 

Clark,  Capt.  .John,  89. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  '26,  71,  72,  90, 
101,  109,  117,  118,  121,  122,  128, 
129,  l.iO,  131,  135,  192,  199,  201, 
202,  209,  221,  224,  232,  348,  349, 
351,  3')2,  40H. 

Clark,  T.  Alex.,  31^0,  399. 

Clinch,  Lieut.,  Km. 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  379. 

Coleman,  Mrs.,  267. 

Coleman,  H.  F.,  78, 

Collins,  Joel,  374,  376. 

f^ollins,  Joshuii,  iHfi. 

Collins,  Richard  H.,  376. 

Connolly,  Dr.  John,  23,  24,  30,  31, 
33,  36. 

Connor,  Richard,  99,  100. 

Cornplanter,  a  Seneca  chief,  256, 
274. 

Cornstalk,  a  Shawanese  chief,  32. 

Cowan,  Frank,  189. 

Cracraft,  Maj.  <Jharles,  3.')2. 

Craigcroft,  Miij.     See  Cracraft. 

Craig.  Isai.c,  43, 56, 245, 346,411, 412. 

Cniig,  Maj.  Isaac,  .i6. 

Crawford's  (Jampuign  against  San- 
duskv,  160-163,  167-189. 

"Crawford's  Defeat,"  extract  from 
the  ballad  entitled,  189. 

Crawford,  Sarah,  364 

(.'rawford,  Valentine,  33. 

Crawlbrd,  Major  William,  30,  33, 
(now  Col.)  161,  162,  167,  169,170, 
171,  172,  176,  177.  178,  179,  180, 
181,  1S2.  183,  IH4,  187,  ISS,  189, 
325,  348,  355,  356,  357.  358,  359, 
360,361,  31)2,  .-63,  3ti4,  365,  366, 
367,  368,  3(19,  370,  371,  372,  404, 
405,  407,  40^.  409. 

Crawford,  William  (ntphew  of  Col. 
(;r,«wf(.rd),  172. 

Cresap,  Col.,  3(». 

Croghan,  Major  Wm  ,  407,  408. 


Cunningham,  Mrs.  Thomas,  cap- 
tured by  the  I'idiaiis,  240;  is  res- 
cued by  Simon  Girty,  241. 

Davies,  William,  40s 

De  Peyster,  A.  S..  86,  87,  111,  112, 
117,  118,  122,  125,  126.  127,  129, 
134,  138,  139,  140,  141,  143,  144, 
145,  146.  162,  163,  191,  192,  211, 
212,  213,  215,  222,  352,  356,  366. 

De  Villiers,  Neyon,  7. 

Doughty,  Maj.  tJohn,  3S4. 

Draper,  Lyman  C,  122,  187,  204, 
205,  360. 

Drouillard,  Joseph,  interpreter,  63. 

Druyer,  Peter,  350,  .351. 

Duentate.  a  Wyandot,  113. 

Duff,  Williat   ,"3'.10. 

Dunlnp,  Join.,  249. 

Dunlap's  Station,  249.  250:  attack 
on,  250-2.^5,  257,  258. 

Dunlavy,  Francis,  168. 

Duninore,  Lord,  25,  27,  30,  35,  50, 

59.  339,  403. 

Dunmore's  War,  25-.30,  .50, 114,  310. 
Diiii(|uat(lI)eWvandot  Half  King), 

136,   163. 
Edgerton,  Thomas,  141,  151. 
E.l wards  (Wdliam),  146. 
Elliott,  Matthew,  .50,  51,  56,  57,  5S, 

60,  65,  66,  108,  132,  133,  167,  I ('8, 
183,  185,  !87,  193,  226,  227,  228, 
229,  234,  -.'35,  24.-),  247,  257,  259, 
2iit;,  273,  274,  276,  277,  285,  286, 
291,  29'.»,  303,  305,  310,  326,  327, 
337,  348,  3:i3,  36(>. 

Elliott,  William,  308,  (now  Captain) 

310,  311,  (now  advocate)  390. 
England,  Col.  Hi'hard.  292. 
Evans,    Miss    Moneka,   marries 

Thomas  Girty,    son    of  Simon, 

307. 
"  FalltMi  Timber,"   The,   battle  of, 

2.s.i,  286,  287,  386, 
"  Falleti    Timber,"  .The,    between 

Forts  St,  Clair  and    Hamilton, 

272. 
Fast,  Christian,  152,  401. 
''  Father  Abraham,"  in  a  mythical 

story,  158.  1.59. 
F'ink,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  154. 
Finney,  Capt.  Walter,  224. 
Fisher,  Myndert,  124. 
Flying  Crow,  .347. 
Forbes,  Gen.  John,  16. 
Fort  Augusta,  9. 
Fort  Barbee,  295,  406. 


Index. 


415 


Fort  Defiance,  28  \. 

Fort  Deposit,  284. 

Fort  Duiimorc,  24,  31. 

Fort  Duquosiie.  C.  10.  -JSl,  .'iSS,  337. 

Fort  Erie,  275,  '-'78.  279. 

Fort  Fincastle,  40. 

"F.irt  Finnev,"  224. 

Fort  Granville,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  II,  12. 

13. 
Fort  Greenville,  284. 
Fort  Hamilton,  262,  2f).5.  272. 
Fort  Harmai',  242,  244. 
Fuvt  Henrv.  40,  r..!,   132,  133,  201, 

a  18.  209, '289,  345,  353,  354,  403, 

409. 
Fort  Hunter,  2. 
F'ort  Jetter.-'on  (on  the  Mississippi), 

117,  118,  121.     * 
Fort  -lett'ersoii  (in  IIk^  present  State 

of  Ohio),  2tJ2,  2().i,  270. 
Fort  Laurens,  88,  9ii.  92,  93,  94,  95, 

96,  98,  109,  113,  114. 
Foit.  Lernoull  (Detroit),  111,  117, 

299,  ;;0(). 
Fort  Mcintosh,  87,  89,  92,  141,  146, 

224, 402. 
Fort   Maiden,   302,   303,  304,  306, 

;-:09. 

Fort  Miami  (on  the  Ohio).  259. 
Vovt  Miami  (on  the  Maumee),  282, 

284,  2S7,  2119.  387. 
Fort    Michilimackinac.    Ill,    117, 

•j99. 
Fo'rt  Pitt,  24,  40,  97,  113,  129,  130, 

409. 
Fort  Randolph.  10. 
Fort  Recovery,  28.1,  298. 
Foi't  Recovery,  town  of,  202. 
Fort  Shirlev,  8. 
Fort  St.  Clilir,  265,  272,  274. 
Fort  Stephenson,  3o9. 
Fort  St.  .Joseph,  86. 
F.Hi  Washington,    240,    250,    252, 

254,  250,  258,  202,  209,  276. 
Fort  Wavne,  317. 
"  Four-Mile  Run."  332. 
Freman,  Dr.,  281. 
Gallagher,  W.  D.,  28. 
Gambier,  a  French  trader,  107. 
"George  Washington,"  an  Indian, 

383. 
Germain,  Lord  Georpe,  42,  344. 
Gibson,  (;ol.  John,  28,  29,  52,  87,  88, 

89,91,  154,  181,  .S39,  340. 
Gibson,  Nancy,  332,  400. 
Girty,  Ann  (daughter  of  Simon), 


born,  228;  marries  Peter  Gover- 
eati.  307;  is  seen  by  Daniel 
Workman,  320;  pre.sent  at  the 
last  illness  of  her  lather,  329. 

Girty,  Ann  (daughter  of  James), 
taken  from  the  wilderness,  292; 
lett  property  liy  her  father's  will, 
316,397,  .398. 

Girty,  Betsey,  wife  of  James,  289, 
292,  3 If),  398. 

Girty,  Catharine  Mackenzie  (wife 
of  Prideaux  Girty),  305. 

Girty,  Cathai  ine  Malott  (wife  of  Si- 
mon Girty),  a  meeting  by  Qua- 
kers held  at  her  home,  219  ;  sep- 
arates fioni  her  hu.sband,  306; 
lives  with  her  duughtcr,  Ann, 
310;  is  with  her  husband  during 
his  last  illness,  321,  322;  over- 
looked, probably,  her  husband's 
Indian  ways,  32ii;  death  of,  333; 
had  sued  William  Mickle  for 
dower,  333,  393;  was  unsuccess- 
ful, 394. 

Girty,  George,  birth  of,  2;  captured 
at  Fort  Granville,  8;  taken  to 
Kittanning,  II;  is  present  at  the 
torturing  of  his  step-father,  ib.; 
why  he  was  noi  rescued  by  Col. 
Armstrong,  13;  adopted  l)y  the 
D-jlawares,  15;  in  1759,  brought 
in  to  Pittsburgh,  by  the  Indians, 
If);  employed  as  interpreter,  19; 
trades  with  the  Indians,  21  ;  con- 
tinued to  reside  at  Pittsburg'a 
duiing  Lord  Dunmore's  War, 47; 
enlists  in  Capt.  James  Willii'g's 
company,  ib.;  commissioned  a 
second  lieutenant,  ib.;  proceeds 
with  his  company  down  thcOhio 
and  Mississippi,  il> ;  deserts  his 
company.  Id");  his  journey  to 
Detroit,  ib.;  en^iaged  in  the  In- 
dian department,  108;  sent  to 
the  Sliawanese  ns  interpreter,  ib.; 
acts  asdisbuising  agent  for  the 
British,  (6.;  couUl  l^e  relied  on  as 
faithful  to  P)ritish  interests.  III; 
goes  to  Detroit  again  in  1780,  1 17; 
goes  on  Bird's  expeditif)n  i'lco 
Kentucky,  118;  aids  Bird  mate- 
rally,  120;  tights  bravely  at 
Pi(|iiH,  121  ;  in  winter  of  Hf^O-l, 
with  Shuwa.iesc,  122;  kills  and 
caiitures  (with  Brant)  Col.  Locl»- 
r\'8  whole  company,  129;   fame 


416 


Index. 


increased,  130;  rejoins  CHpt. 
'i'hompson,  ih.;  goes  vvitli  McKee 
and  Brant  into  Ky.,  131 ;  did  not 
/io  to  Wheeling  in  1781,  132;  at 
Sandusky  awaiting  attack  of  Col. 
Crawford,  163;  in  the  battle 
against  Crawford,  1(57;  returns 
to  the  Delawares,  184;  lives  with 
them,  ib.;  his  ill-treatment  of 
Slover,  186;  marches  under  Capt. 
Caldwell,  193,  194;  returns  to  the 
Delawares,  200;  did  not  march 
under  Bradt  against  Wheeling, 
208;  goes  against  Dunlap's  Sta- 
tion, 252,  257,  258;  continues 
with  the  Delawares,  292;  writes, 

:  in  1784,  to  McKee.  293;  takes 
charge  of  young  Brickell,  293, 
294;  marries  among  the  Dela- 
wares, 315;  dies  on  the  Maumee, 
ib.;  his  bravery,  iA.;  first  printed 
account  of.  335;  mention  of  as  a 
trader,  337;  not  at  Wheeling  in 
:777  ;  his  letter  to  McKee  given 
in  full,  382. 

"Girty's  Hill,"  331. 

"Girty's  Island,"  317,411,412. 

Girty,  .lames,  birth  of,  2;  captured 
at  Fort  Granville,  8;  taken  to 
Kittanning,  11;  witnesses  the 
torturing  of  his  step-father  by 
the  savaees,  ib.;  why  he  was  not 
rescued  at  the  attack  on  Kittan- 
ning, 13;  adopted  by  the  Sliaw- 
anese,  15;  brought  in,  in  1759,  to 
Pittsburgh,  16;  employed  as  in- 
terpreter, 19;  goes  to  the  Shaw- 
anese  in  the  Ohio  wilderne.ss  for 
trader.s,  20;  is  there  seen  and 
described  by  Rev.  David  Jones, 
21;  sometimes  worked  in  Pitts- 
burgh as  a  common  laborer,  ib.; 
remained  in  Pittsburgh  during 
Dunmore's  War,  49;  sent  to  the 
Shawanese  with  a  message  and 
presents  by  American  commis- 
sioners, ib.;  persuaded  to  desert 
hi8  country,  60;  inflames  the 
minds  of  the  Shawanese  against 
the  Americans,  ib.;  arrives  at 
Detroit,  64;  sent  back  as  inter- 
preter to  the  Shawanese,  ib.;  ac- 
companied to  the  Ohio  wildtr- 
ness  by  his  brother  Simon,  ib.; 
Attainted  of  high  treason  by 
Pennsylvania,  65,  66 ;  what  Ham- 


ilton expected  of  him  in  the 
Ohio  wilderness,  73;  goes  upon 
a  maraud  into  Kentucky,  74;  re- 
turns with  scalps  and  prisoners 
to  Wapatomica,  ib.;  meets  Ken- 
ton at  Wnpatomica,  77;  goes  to 
Detroit,  109;  sent  back  to  Wajja- 
toniica,  110;  faithful  to  British 
interests,  111;  early  in  1 780  goes 
to  Detroit,  117;  thence  upon 
Bird's  expedition  into  Ky.,  118; 
returns  to  the  Shawanese,  120; 
tights  bravely  at  PiquH,  121;  in 
winter  of  1780-1,  with  Shawa- 
nese, 122;  did  not  go  to  Wheel- 
ing in  1781,  132;  arrives  at  San- 
dusky to  aicl  the  Shawanese 
against  Crawibrd,  169;  returns 
to  Wdpatomicn,  184;  informs 
against  Slover,  185;  miirches  un- 
der Capt.  Caldwell,  193;  returns 
to  the  Shawanese  towns,  194; 
maiches  under  Capt.  Bradt 
against  Fort  Henry,  201,  208, 
209;  his  warning  of  euiigrnnts 
on  the  Ohio  a  fiction,  229-232; 
locates  at  St.  Mary's  as  a  trader, 
231;  not  at  the  attack  on  Dun- 
lap's  Station,  257,  258;  marries  a 
Shawanese  woman,  Betsey,  289; 
his  locating  at  St.  Mary's  again 
mentioned,  ib.;  ships  peltry  to 
Detroit,  ib.;  moves  to  "  The 
Glaize,"  290;  visited  by  0.  M. 
Spencer,  291 ;  frightens  the  boy, 
292;  removes  to  Gosfield,  Essex 
county,  Canada,  ih.;  his  savage 
disposition,  294;  returns  to  the 
Maumee  to  trade,  316;  granted 
lands  in  Gosfield  by  the  Crown, 
ih.;  makes  his  will,  ib.;  contin- 
ues to  trade  on  the  Maumee, 
317;  finally  gives  up  the  busi- 
ness, ib.;  his  last  trading-post, 
location  of,  ib.;  not  at  the  battle 
of  the  Thames,  318;  death  of,  in 
Gosfield,  Canada,  ib.;  his  per- 
sonal appearance  and  character, 
318,  319;  erroneous  accounts  as 
to  the  place  of  his  death,  319; 
his  savagery  probably  overstated, 
ib.;  first  published  account  of, 
335 ;  not  in  the  attack  on  Fort 
Henry  in  1777,  346;  his  will 
given  in  full,  397-399. 


Index. 


417 


Girty,  James  (son  of  James,  brother 
of  Simbn),  292,  316,  397,  39S. 

Girty,  John  (son  of  Thomas),  332, 
333,  400. 

Girty,  Mrs.  Mary  Newton, 4, 5,( Mrs. 
John  Turner)  8,  11,  12,  15,  18. 

"Girtv's  Notch,"  20;i 

"  Girty's  Notch  Hotel,"  203. 

"Girty'.s  Point"  (in  the  present  W. 
Va),  141,  142.  14.3. 

"Girtv's  Point"  (on  the  Maumee), 
31?; 

Girtv,  Prideaux,  304,  305,  329,  332, 
394,  400. 

"Girty's  Run,"  331. 

Girty,  Saiiih,  born,  255;  marries 
Joseph  Munger,  307;  is  given 
proi)erty  by  her  lialt'-uncle,  John 
Turner,  332;  mention  ol,  in 
Turner's  will,  400. 

Girty,  Simon,  8r.,  emigrai<'3  to 
America,  1  ;  in  the  Indian  trade 
at  "  Paxtiiiig,"  ib.;  settles  on 
Shermiin's  creek,  3;  returns  to 
Chiimbers's,  4;  df-ath  of,  5. 

Girty,  Simon,  born,  1 ;  captured  by 
the  Indians  at  Fort  Granville,  8; 
taken  to  Kittanning,  11;  wit- 
nesses the  torturing  of  his  step- 
father, ib  ;  why  he  was  not  re.s- 
cued  by  Col.  Armstrong,  14; 
claimed  by  the  Senecas,  15; 
brought  by  them,  in  1759,  to 
Pittsburgh,  16;  employed  as  in- 
tei'preter,  19;  a  Delaware  chief 
takes  his  name,  i6.;  visits  Indian 
camps  frequently,  20;  makes 
friends  at  Pittsburgh,  ib.;  takes 
part  with  Va.  in  boundary  con- 
troversy, ib.;  employed  by  the 
Crown  as  interpreter,  21  ;  in- 
dicted in  the  boundary  troubles 
for  misdemeanor,  23;  protects 
Mrs.  MacKay,  24;  takes  part  in 
Lord  Dunmore's  War,  25;  car- 
ries a  message  to  Point  Pleasant, 
27;  shoots  an  Indian,  28;  sent 
by  Dunniore  with  John  Gibson 
to  the  Shawanese,  29;  goes  after- 
ward alone  to  meet  John  Logan, 
the  Mingo  chief,  ib.;  translates 
Logan's  "  speech  "  to  Gibson,  30 ; 
gets  up  an  Indian  dance  with 
others,  for  Dunmore's  diversion, 
ib.;  commissioned  second  lieu- 
tenant, ib.;  aids  Major  Connolly 

27 


in  a  jail  delivery  at  H annas- 
town,  31;  takes  the  prescribed 
oaths  when  commissioned  a  mili- 
tia officer,  ib  ;  is  said  to  be  "  well- 
disposed"  toward  the  Mother 
country,  32;  is  probably  influ- 
enced by  Connolly,  33;  goes  as 
guide  to  the  Western  Indians,  y 
35;  petitions  the  Virginia  Ex- 
ecutive Council  for  extra  pay 
tor  the  trip,  36,  loses  his  of- 
fice of  second  lieutenant,  36; 
apiiointed  inte -preter  by  Mor- 
gan at  Fort  Pitt,  for  the  Six 
Nations,  37;  his  instructions, 
38;  discharged  for  ill-behavior, 
ib.;  sent  as  express  over  the 
mountains,  3'J;  enlists  men  at 
Pittsburgh  tor  tlip  patriot  army, 
41 ;  mado  second  lieutenant,  ib.; 
soon  resigns,  ib.;  not  at  the  at- 
tack, in  1777,  on  Fort  Henry,  43; 
arrested  as  a  conspirator,  45 ;  dis- 
charged, ib.;  fully  restored  to  the 
confidence  of  Gen.  Hand  and 
sent  with  a  message  to  the  Sen- 
ecas, ib.;  goes  out  upon  the 
"Squaw  Campaign,"  48;  influ- 
enced by  McKee  to  flee  to  the 
enemy,  49,  50,  51  ;  why  he  went 
over  to  the  enemy,  51  et  seq.:  left 
no  papers  behind,  54;  his  char- 
aster  at  the  time  of  his  flight, 
if.;  owned  no  lands  in  West- 
moreland county.  Pa.,  54,  55;  a 
fictitious  tradition  as  to  his  liv- 
ing with  a  woman — his  reputed 
wife,  55;  left  Pittsburgh  to  go  to 
the  British,  not  to  the  Indians, 
56;  was  not  at  heart  an  Indian, 
ib.;  did  not  flee  from  Fort  Pitt, 
ib ;  goes  with  McKee  and  Elli- 
ott to  the  Delawares,  57;  helps 
inflame  their  minds  against  tlie 
Americans,  58;  goes  to  the  Shaw- 
anese, 60;  a  fiction  as  to  his  be- 
ing captured  by  the  Wyandots, 
61;  reaches  Detroit,  62;  em- 
ployed in  the  British  Indian  De- 
{lartment  as  interpreter  to  the 
Six  Nations,  ib.;  is  fiaid  two  dol- 
lars a  day,  ib.;  belonged  to  no 
military  organization,  64;  goes 
to  the  Mingoes  ns  interpreter, 
ib.;  attainted  of  high  treason  by 
Pennsylvania,   65,    66;    not    "a 


418 


Index. 


white  savage — nothing  else,"  67; 
why  he  left  Pittsburjih  to  join 
tlie  British,  07,  68;  what  Hamil- 
ton expected  of  him  in  the  Ohio 
wilderness,  73 ;  goes  upon  a  foray 
into  Kentucky,  74;  returns  with 
prisoners  and  scalps  to  VVapa- 
tomica,  ib.;  in  going  over  to  the 
British  did  not  intend  to  live 
with  the  Indians,  75;  meets  Ken- 
ton at  Wapatomica,  77  ;  ill-treats 
him,  77,  78;  saves  his  life,  78; 
again  intercedes  for  him,  79;  se- 
cures his  being  taken  to  Upper 
Sandusky,  79,  80;  was  "good  to" 
Kenton,  80;  said  "he  was  too 
hasty "  in  going  over  to  the 
enemy,  ib.;  not  entitled  to  great 
credit  for  saving  Kenton,  80,  ><l  ; 
erroneous  report  has  been  pub- 
lished that  he  was  dispatclied  to 
the  "Moravian"  Indians,  85;  or- 
dered by  Hamilton  to  wtvtcii  the 
enemy  near  Fort  Pitt,  88;  goes 
with  a  party  of  Mingoes  to  Fort 
Laurens,  ib.;  ambushes  Ca[»tain 
John  Clark  and  a  detachment  of 
troops,  ib.;  returtis  to  Detroit, 
90;  his  hatred  of  Col.  Gibson, 
and  '..lie  reason,  91;  asks  ('apt. 
Lernoult  for  aid  to  go  against 
Fort  Laurens,  92;  leads  the  Min- 
goes to  Fort  Laurens,  94;  Dela- 
wares  try  to  waylay  him,  it  is 
said,  to  get  reward  for  bis  scalp, 
95;  he  goes  in  pursuit  ol  his 
would-be  slayers,  ib.;  returns  to 
the  Mingo  country,  96 ;  goes  with 
seven  Mingoes  after  a  bundle  of 
letters,  97;  reaches  Coshocton, 
ib.;  returns  there  with  a  prisoner, 
98 ;  his  name  a  terror  now  on  the 
border,  ib,;  that  he  killed  women 
and  children  not  positively 
proven,  ib.;  accidentally  meets 
bavid  Zejsberger,  ib.;  takes 
the  bundle  of  letters  to  De- 
troit, 104;  returns  to  the  Ohio 
wilderness,  109;  could  be  relied 
upon  as  faithful  to  the  British, 
111 ;  letter  of,  from  Sandusky  to 
Capt.  Lernoult,  113,  114;  fought 
against  Indians,when,  114;  early 
in   1780,   goes    to  Detroit,   117; 

foes  upon  Bird's  expedition  into 
[y.,  118;    returns  to  the  Min- 


goes, 120;  remains,  in  the  winter 
of  1780-i,  with  the  Mingoes;,  122; 
goes  among  the  VVyandots  to  re- 
side, 125;  goes  on  a  raid  into 
Ky.,  126;  saves  the  life  of  young 
Henry  Baker,  127;  sends  Wyan- 
dots  tu  Coshocton,  128;  writes  to 
De  Peyster  concerning  Brod- 
head's  expedition  to  Ci>shooton, 
ib.;  says  the  C'liristian  {"  Morav- 
ian ")  Indians  ajiplied  for  lielp  to 
be  removed  before  the  "  rebels" 
reached  their  town,  ib.;  goes  with 
McKee  to  repel  Clark,  130;  has 
a  personal  encounter  with  Capt. 
Brant,  i6.;  nearly  killed,  »4  ;  did 
not  go  to  Wheeling  in  1781,  132; 
more  and  more,  in  1782,  attached 
to  Britain,  1 30;  the  constant 
companion  of  the  Half  King,  ih.; 
enters  Heckewelder's cabin,  137; 
depicted  by  that  missionaty,  ib.; 
gets  a  letter  from  De  IVysler  as 
to  the  missionaries,  1:^8;  goes  on 
a  raid  eastward  a<^voss  the  Ohio, 
140;  returns  to  Lower  Sandusky, 
141 ;  took  delight  in  seeing 
prisoners  tortured,  142;  writes 
to  De  Peyster  concerning  his 
raid,  ib.;  his  headquarters  at  the 
Half  King's  town,  144;  gets 
drunk  at  Lower  Sandusky  and 
frightens  the  Moravian  mission- 
aries, 147,  148;  goes  to  Upper 
Sandusky,  151 ;  fiction  as  to 
his  going  in  disjjuise  into  border 
settlements,  158;  one,  also,  as  to 
selling  young  Isaac  Walker,  ib.; 
writes  to  De  Peyster  from  Lower 
Sandusky,  159,  100;  attends  to 
the  "  King's  business,"  ib.;  sends 
alarming  intelligence  to  De  Pey- 
ster, ib.;  awaits  the  coming  of 
the  expedition  under  Crawford, 
163;  lette.  of,  to  De  Peyster 
from  Lower  Sandusky,  164,  165; 
he  takes  part  in  the  battle  on  the 
Sandusky  Plains,  168;  interview 
with  Crawford  before  the  battle 
a  fiction,  169, 170;  sees  Crawford, 
172;  did  he  endeavor  to  save 
him  as  he  promised?  173-175; 
meets  him  again  near  the  Ty- 
mochtee,  177;  at  the  torturing  of 
Crawford,  178-182;  after  Craw- 
ford's   torture    returns    to    the 


Jndiix. 


419 


Half  King's  town,  183;  goes 
thence  to  Lower  Sandusky,  ib.; 
reports  the  burning  of  Crawford 
to  Cnpt.  Caldwell,  ib.;  goes  to 
Solomon's  town,  190;  supposed 
speecn  of,  error,  190,  191,  202; 
marches  under  Capt.  Caldwell, 
193;  reaches  Bryan's  Station,  194; 
fiction  of  his  'Jemanding  its  sur- 
render, 19r>-197;  did  not  have 
any  commund  at  the  battle  of 
the  Blue  Licks,  198-200,  205- 
208;  returns  to  the  Half  King's 
town,  200;  actively  employed  be- 
tween Sandusky  and  Detroit, 
202;  his  uhiquity,  203;  did  not 
march  ngiiinst  Wheeling  under 
Bradt,  208;  noes  against  the  Pa. 
border,  210;  captures  young 
Burkhart,  ib.;  recalled  from  the 
Ohio  wilderness  by  De  Peyster, 
ib.;  receives  half-pay  or  pen- 
sion, ib.;  fictitious  account  as  to 
his  meeting  Brady,  211,  212; 
present  at  a  council  with  the 
savages  at  Detroit  as  an  inter- 
preter, 212;  time  previously 
spent  with  the  Indians  during 
the  Revolution,  213;  is  visited  by 
his  brother  Thomas,  and  halt- 
brother,  John  Turner,  ib.;  goes, 
in  1783,  to  an  Indian  council  at 
Sandusky,  214;  marries,  in  1784, 
Catharine  Malott,  214,  215;  takes 
up  his  abode  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Detroit  river,  21o,  216,  219; 
excites  the  savages  against  the 
United  States,  220;  is  under  Mc- 
Kee's  direction,  222;  is  informeii 
of  by  <Jol  Harmar,  223;  goes  to 
the  Wyandots  and  Shawanese  to 
prevent  them  from  treating  with 
the  Unite!  States,  224;  again 
visits  the  Shawanese  to  stir  up 
their  animosity,  226;  goes  to 
Sandusky,  thence  to  Niagara, 
227;  is  promised  lands  for  his 
services  in  the  Revolution,  228; 
has  a  daughter  born,  ib.;  active, 
in  1786,  at  a  council  with  the  In- 
dians on  Detroit  river,  228,  229; 
was  known  by  Walker,  235;  aids 
young  Moore  to  release  his  sister 
from  caf)tivity,  2S7;  labDrs  to 
have  the  savages,  in  1787,  meet 
in  council  on  the  Maumee,  23H ; 


his  activity,  in  1788,  for  McKee, 
239;  is  sent  to  the  second  Indian 
council  on  the  Maumee,  239; 
has  a  son  born,  ib.;  assists  in  res- 
cuing Mrs.  Thomas  Cunningham 
from  captivity,  241;  returns  to 
Detroit,  ib.;  is  comparatively  in- 
active in  1789,  244;  fiction  as  to 
his  raiding  intoVa.  in  that  year, 
ib.;  visited  again  by  his  half- 
brother,  John  'iurner,  ib  ;  goes,  in 
1790,  to  a  council  on  the  Mau- 
mee, 248;  his  advice  followed  by 
the  savages,  ib.;  proposes  a  cam- 
paign against  the  American 
forts,  ib.;  a  fallacy  as  to  his 
raiding  into  Virginia,  249;  leads 
savages  against  Dunlap's  Station, 
251;  attacks  the  stockade,  and 
is  unsuccessful,  251-254;  orders, 
or  approves  of,  the  torturing  of 
Abner  Hunt,  254;  returns  home, 
255  ;  birth  of  another  daughter, 
ib.;  sent  again  to  the  Maumee, 
256 ;  threatens  any  U.  S.  commis- 
sioner sent  to  make  peace,  ib.; 
employes  "Moravian"  Indians  on 
his  farm,  259;  pays  them  in  rum, 
ib.;  goes  to  the  Miami  villages, 
head  of  Maumee,  260;  leads  the 
Wyandots  at  St.  Clair's  defeat, 
261;  fought  bravely  in  the  bat- 
tle, 263;  refuses  to  "end  the 
misery"  of  (len.  Butler,  ib.;  cap- 
tures a  white  woinan,  264;  his 
reputation  as  a  brave  man  great- 
ly increased,  ib.;  returns  to  the 
Maumee,  ib.;  saves  the  life  of 
William  May,  265;  commands 
at  the  attack  on  Fort  Jefferson, 
ib.;  is  at"The'01aize  '  during  the 
surrmer  of  1792,  266;  has  a  re- 
puted son  on  the  Maumee,  267, 
268;  Girty  described  by  young 
Spencer,  269 ;  is  seen  at  Detroit 
by  Joseph  Van  Bebber,  270;  de- 
nies that  he  was  the  instigator 
of  Colonel  Crawford's  death,  ib.; 
part  taken  by  him  at  St.  Clair's 
defeat  again  mentioned,  271 ;  his 
presence  at  the  attack  on  Fort 
Jefferson  reaffirmed,  ib.;  goes 
against  the  "  Falle"n  Timber," 
but  is  recalled,  272;  is  at  a  great 
Indian  council  at  "The  Glaize," 
in   October,    1792,  273;    at    an- 


420 


Index. 


other  council  with  the  sp.v- 
atfes,  in  1793,  on  the  Maumee, 
^7l);  interprets  incorrectly  at  a 
meetitisr  with  U.  S.  Commission- 
ers, 277;  his  insolenco,  according 
to  Heckewolder,  27S ;  Quakers 
hold  a  iDeelini;  iit  iiis  liome,  279; 
in  1794,  is  very  ative.  281;  paid 
l)V  the  day  as  British  interpreter 
in  addition  to  his  pension,  ib.;  is 
seen  by  Jacob  Lewis,  ib.;  goes  to 
the  Maumee.  282 ;  marclies 
against  Fort  Kecovery,  282,  283 ; 
figlits  bravely,  ib.;  is  at  the  battle 
of  the  "Fallen  Timber,"  28o, 
286;  attends  an  Indian  council, 
in  1794,  near  his  home,  287; 
goes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mau- 
mee to  assist  McKee,  ih.;  nX- 
tempts  for  the  last  time  to  ad- 
monish the  Indians  not  to  treat 
for  peace,  288;  goes  home  never 
atiain  to  appear  in  the  U.  S.  as  a 
British  emissary,  ib.;  prevents  a 
few  Indians  from  going  to  Green- 
ville to  make  peace  with  Wayne, 
29();  his  zeal  described  by  Cass, 
299;  swims  Xhr-.  Detroit  river, 
300,  301  ;  his  bravery,  301 ;  how 
treated  bv  the  British  govern- 
ment, 303;  of  ills  domestic 
career,  3U4 ;  birth  of  his  son  Pri- 
deaux,  304;  granted  land  by  the 
Crown,  305.  306;  separates  from 
his  wife,  306;  liotion  as  to  his 
visiting  Pittsburgh,  307;  deeds 
half  his  farm  to  his  8i>n  Thomas, 
307,  308;  in  Detroit  in  1812,  ib.; 
is  nearly  blind.  309;  prepares  to 
go  among  the  Mohawks,  ib.;  not 
at  the  massacre  of  the  River 
Raisin,  310-312;  fictions  with  re- 
gard to  him  and  Kenton,  311- 
313;  not  killed  at  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  313;  finds  refuge 
with  the  Mohawks,  313,  315;  fic- 
tion as  to  his  once  trading  on 
the  Maumee,  317,  318;  returns 
home  from  the  Mohawk  coun- 
try, 320;  is  total' V  blind,  ib.;  re- 
ported as  killed,  321 ;  his  death, 
322;  his  burial,  ib.;  an  error  as 
to  his  death,  323 ;  his  personal 
appearance,  ib.;  his  house  has 
disappeared,  ib.;  his  ill-will  to- 
ward the   Americans,   324;    hia 


general  character,  324-327;  first 
published  account  of,  335;  fiction 
as  to  his  joining  the  Indians  in 
1774,  339;  the  oaths  in  full  taken 
by  him  when  commissioned  by 
Connolly,  341;  concerning  the 
fiction  of  his  being  at  Wheeling 
as  an  enemy,  in  1777,  344;  par- 
ticulars of  his  visit  to  the  JSeneca 
towns  in  the  same  year,  346; 
evidence  as  to  his  being  in.utru- 
mental  in  finally  saving  Kenton 
from  torture,  351 ;  did  not  exert 
himself  to  save  Crawford,  355;  a 
fiction  as  to  his  attitude  when 
ready  to  deliver  n  speech  to  the 
Indians.  372;  what  John  Leith 
says  of  him,  3^14;  a  fiction  con- 
cerning his  not  visiting  the 
Scotch-Irish  of  W.  Va.,  387;  his 
deed  in  full  to  his  son  Tliomas, 
389,  390;  W.  C.  Mickle  tells  how 
he  broke  his  ankle,  393;  pub- 
lished estimates  of,  394-397; 
seen  tiy  James  Lyon,  402;  what 
Jonathan  Alder  says  of  his  treat- 
ment of  boy-prisoners,  ib.;  not 
much  to  be  praised  for  his  treat- 
ment of  young  Burkhart  or 
young  Spencer,  403;  an  account 
of  him  in  a  Cyclopmdia,  403, 
404;  not  a  proper  person  to  re- 
strain the  savages,  405;  most 
conspicuous  of  the  Girtys,  406 ; 
the  fiction  of  his  being  at  Piqua 
when  that  village  was  attacked 
by  (,'lark,  406;  his  living  with 
the  Min<;oes  confirmed,  407;  not 
born  on  an  island  in  the  Susque- 
hannah,  407  ;  error  as  to  his  go- 
ing at  once  to  live  with  the  Wyan- 
dots,  407;  his  acquaintance  with 
Crawford  reiterated,  ib.;  present, 
as  previously  stated,  at  his  tor- 
ture, ih.;  what  Dr.  Knight  told 
Croghan  concerning  his  actions 
at  (Crawford's  death,  ib.;  first  ac- 
count published  of  his  course  at 
the  torture  of  Crawford,  40S,  409; 
another  fictitious  account  of  his 
being  present,  in  1777,  at  the  at- 
tack on  Fort  Henry,  409;  a  fool- 
ish tradition  co  ecting  his 
name  with  Girty's  Island  on  the 
Maumee,  412;  false  evidence  as 


Index. 


421 


to  Jolui  Turner  l)eiiig  Iiiu  lull 
brotht'f,  i/t. 

Girly,  ThomiiH,  Ixnn,  1;  CMptured 
Hi  Fort  Gi'iiiiville,  8;  taken  to 
Kittiiiiniii^,  11;  present  at  the 
torturinj:  of  his  step-father,  ib.; 
rescued  by  Col.  Armstrong,  13; 
before  17G8,  settles  in  Pittsburgh, 
21,  22;  gives  bond  to  ke(>p  the 
I)eace,  4G;  is  sued  by  Ignaw 
Labnt,  ih.;  gives  a  deposition,  ih.; 
residing,  in  1781,  at  Pittsburgh, 
124;  his  name  forged  by  Myn- 
dert  Fisher,  ih.;  petitions  Gen. 
Irvine,  152, 153;  visits  his  brother 
Simon,  213  ;  becotnes  a  loval  cit- 
izer^  214;  goes  to  the  Western 
Indians  sis  a  messenger,  238;  fic- 
tion ns  to  his  bro'her  Simon 
making  him  a  visit,  307;  a 
patriot  after  the  Revolution, 
330;  moves  across  the  Alle- 
ghany, iA.;  death  of,  331;  errors 
concerning,  3.S2;  first  pub- 
lished account  of  liim,  335;  dealt 
with  the  Ilutlers,  411;  his  de- 
scendants try  to  get  .John  Tur- 
ner's property,  412. 

Girtv,  Mrs.  Thomas,  her  loyalty, 
330,  331. 

Girty,  Thomas  (son  of  Simon), 
born,  23',(;  marries  Miss  Moneka 
Evans,  307;  is  deeded  half  his 
father's  farm,  307,  308;  death  of, 

•    315. 

Gist,  Thomas,  33. 

Givans,  Lieut.,  279. 

Glenn,  David,  354, 

Glikkikan,  Isaac,  102,  104. 

"Gnadenhiitten  Affnir,"  154-157. 

Gore,  Arthur  F.,  400. 

Govereau,  Mrs.  Ann  (nee  Girty), 
310,  320. 

Govereau,  Peter,  marries  Miss  Ann 
Girty,  307,  320. 

Grant,  Commodore ,  215. 

Green,  Thomas  M.,  376. 

Gu-a-sho-ta  (Guyasutha),  347. 

Gunsaulus,  John,  167. 

Guyasutha,  17,  338,347. 

Hahn,  Samuel,  253,  257. 

Haldimand,  Gen.  Frederick,  86, 
107,  111,  348,  349. 

Haldimand  MSS.,  see  Haldimand 
Papers. 


Haldimand    Papers,   182,  18'>,  192, 

352,  .377-381,385. 
Haldimand,  William,  377. 
Half  King,  12.5,  133,  l.'.G,  137,  138. 

139,  140,  143,  144,   149,   150,  154, 

162,244,  384. 
Half  King's   towrn,    141,    144,  145, 

ft  1,163,  172,  176,   177,  200.  358, 

359. 
Hamilton,  dipt.,  279. 
Hamilton,   biout.-(70v.   Henry,  36, 

37,  .39,  40,  41,  42,  44,  .5m,  h8,  59, 

60,  61,  62,  6.3,  64,  6.5,  66,  67,  68, 

69,  74,  75,  85,  86,  87.  88,  90,  100, 

101.  126,  21.5,  222,  343,  314,  348, 

349.  350,  m. 
Hamtramck,  JIajor  .1.  F.,  246,  247, 

248. 
Hand,  Rrig.  Oen.  Edward,  41,  42, 

43,  44.  45.  47,  48,  49,  51,  52,  57, 

87.  347,  348. 
Ilarmar,  Col.  .Josinh.  221,  222,  226, 

227  ((ienoral),  246,  247,  248,  250, 

254,  256,  290,  406. 
Harmar  Papers,  384. 
Harrison,    Cie.n.    William    Henry, 

309,  310,  390,  392,  406. 
Harrison,  Gov,  (of  Va.).  205.  206. 
Harrison,  William,  33.  172,  365. 
Hav,  .lehu,  63,  118,  215,  216. 
H.izle,  Edward,  58,  60,  61,  66,  235. 
Heart,  ('apt.  .lonathan.  2-')6. 
Heckewelder,  .lohn,  53,  57,  90,  96, 

97,  98,  99.  100,  101,  102,  10.3,  104, 

11.5,  117,  124,  125,  136,  137,  140, 

143,  145,  146,  275,  278,  279,  353, 

3.56. 
Helm,  Capt.  Leonard,  87. 
Herbert,    Michael,    a    servant    of 

Matthew  Elliott,  50. 
Hiashota  (Guvnsutha).  17. 
Higgins,  one,  50,  51,  348. 
Hoagland,  Capt.  Henry,  167. 
Hodgdon,   Quartermaster  General, 

260. 
lloman,  Bombardier  William,  120. 
Hosmer,  Abe,  400. 
Hull,  Gen.,  311. 
Hunt,   Abner,   250.   251,  252,  253, 

254,  255. 
Her,  Jacob,  394. 
Illinois,  conquest  of  the,  71,  72. 
"Indiana,"  grant  of,  63. 
"Indian  officers,"  63,  126, 
Indian  villaiies  in  the  Ohio  coun- 
try, 61.  73.  74. 


422 


Index. 


Ironside,  George,  267,  208,  273,  291, 

316,  399. 
Irvine,  Brig. -Gen.William,  130,  153, 

154,  161,  164,  166.  184,  189,401. 
Jay,  John,  297. 
"Jay  Treaty,"  297,  299. 
Jefterson,  Thomas,  117. 
Johnson,  Col.  Richard  M.,  321,  336, 

392. 
Johnson.  Hir  John,  214,  227,  228, 

229. 
Johnson,  Sir  William,  43. 
Johnston,  Col.  John,  188. 
Johnston,  Rev.  J.  B.,  45. 
Jones,  an  interpreter,  277. 
Katapeconien,  19,  2!d2,  328. 
Kayashuta  (Guyasutha),  32. 
Kenton,  Simony  26,  72,  7,S,  76,  13."), 

187,310,  312,  313,  350,  351,  396, 

401,403,  404,  410. 
Kinan,  Mrs.  Joseph,  281. 
Kingsbury,  Lieut.  Jacob,  250,  251, 

254,  255. 
Killbuck,  Capt.  John,  88. 
Knight,  Dr.  John,   161.   167,    177, 
'     178,  180,  181,  188,  189,  366,  367, 

368,  369,  370.  407,  408,  409. 
"Knight  and  Slover  Narratives," 

157,  179,  181,  186,  367,  368,  369- 

372. 
Kuhn,  Abraham,  a  Wyandot  war 

chief,  140,  141,  149. 
Lamothe,  William,  405. 
Lassell,  Antoine,  386. 
Lee,  Arthur,  221. 
Leith,  John,  68,  69,  382-384. 
Lernoult.  Capt.  R.  B.,  63,  90,  92,  93, 

104,  108,  109,  110,  111,  113,  114, 

222. 
Le  Villier,  128,  140,  144,  145,  147, 

149,  165. 
Lewis,  Col.  Andrew,  26,  27,  28,  (now 

Gen.)  3;i9,  340. 
Lewis,  Jacob,  281. 
Light.  Jacob,  267. 
Lincoln,  Benj.,  275.  279. 
Linn,  Capt.  VVilliam,  85. 
Little  lurtle,  a  Miami  chief,  261, 

273,  274,  282. 
Lochry,  Col.   Archibald,    129,  130, 

135. 
"Lochrv's    Defeat,"   129-131,    152, 

35 1    379 
Logan,  Col.   Benj.,    199,   205,   232, 

236,  290. 


Logan,  the  Mingo  chief,  25,  29,  .30, 
83,  338,  339,  350,  351. 

"  Long  Knives,"  Indian  name  for 
Virginians,  25. 

Long  Run,  massacre  at,  by  McKee 
and  Brant,  131. 

Lorimer's,  120,  202,  209. 

Louisville  (Ky.)  founded,  85. 

Lower  Sandusky,  Wyandot  village 
of,  its  location,  61. 

Lyon,  Eli  (a  boy),  401. 

Lyon,  James  (a  boy),  402. 

Lyon,  Thomas,  401. 

Mac-a-chack.     See  Mac-a-cheek. 

Mac-a-cheek,  77,  234,  236,  350,  410. 

MacLeod,  John,  1,  312. 

Maiden  (Amherstburg),  30p,  310, 
311,  313. 

Malott,  Catharine,  taketi  prisoner 
by  the  Delavvares,  116;  marries 
Simon  Girty.  214,  215;  men- 
tioned by  Charles  McKnight, 
218;  also  by  Mag.  Amer.  His- 
tory, 218,  219. 

Malott,  Peter,  116. 

Malott,  Sarah,  116. 

Marietta  founded,  258. 

Marshel,  Col.  James,  155. 

Marshall,  Thomas,  229,  230,  231, 
232. 

Martin's  Station,  119,  121. 

Masonville,  A.,  308,  390. 

May,  William,  263,  265,  266,  385. 

McArthur,  Gen.,  392. 

McCarty,  Nathaniel.  213. 

McCaslin,  John,  332,  400. 

McCaslin,  Priscilla,  332,  400. 

McClelland,  Maj.  John,  171,  365. 

McClung,  John  A.,  80,  82,  83,  231, 
231,  232 

McCormiok,  Alexander,  101,  102, 
103,  137,  138,357,3.59. 

McCutchen,  Joseph,  170,  357,  358, 
359. 

McDonald.  Maj.  Angus,  25. 

McGeary,  Major,  199. 

Mcintosh,  Brig.-Gen.  Lachlan,  87, 
8S,  89,  95. 

McKee,  Alexander,  32,  43,  44,  45, 
49,  50,  51,  52,  56,  57.  60,  62,  63, 65, 
66,  108,  118,  1.30,  169,  185,  190, 
192,  193.  194,  200,  206,  215,  222, 
227,  228.  229,  235,  237,  238,  239, 
241,  247.  248,  251.  266,  272,  273, 
274.  276,  282,  283,  285,  •J86,  287, 
291,  293,  296,  297,  299,  303,  305, 


Index. 


423 


321),  327,  348,  3r)2,  372,  382,  385, 

386,  387,  407. 
McKcc,  .Iiimes,  245. 
"  McKee's  Rocks,"  r.l. 
McKee,  Thomas,  270,  277,  282,  31fi, 

399. 
McKenzie,  a  Scotchmftn,  273. 
McKniglit,  Charles,  116,  187,  218. 
McMahon,  Mi\j.  William,  283. 
Mprcer,  Capt.  liunh,  13. 
Miami  Indian  villages,  at  head  of 

Maumee,  246. 
Mickle,  .James,  319,  323. 
Mickle,  William,  333. 
Mickle,  William  Charles,  323,  333, 

393,  394. 
"Middle  Department"  of  the  TJ. 

S..  36. 
Moluiitha,  Shttwanese  chief,  killed, 

236. 
Montgomery,  John,  39. 
Montour,  John,  98. 
"Moravian"  Indians,  85,  100,  101, 

133,  136,  137,  139,  145,  154,  155, 

163,  164,  165,  177,  178,  259,  365. 
Moravian  missionaries  in  the  West, 

88,    133,   136,  137,  138,  139,  145, 

149,  353,  354,  355,  356,  404. 
Moravian    missionary  stations   on 

the  Tuscarawas,  36. 
Moore,  Mary,  235,  236,  237. 
Moore,  young  James,  233,  235,  236, 

237. 
Morgan,  George,  37,  57,  346. 
Morrison,  Alexander,  202. 
Hunger,  Joseph,  307,  332,  394,  400. 
Munn,  Cant.  James,  167. 
Murray,  Nicholas,  186.  , 

Neville,  Capt.  John,  36,  41. 
Newton,  Mary,  marries  Simon  Gir- 

ty,  St.,  1;   maiden  name  given, 

337. 
Nicholson,  Joseph,  30. 
Nicholson,  Thomas,  30. 
"  Ohio  Company,"  The,  258. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  258. 
"  Parkman  Papers."  The,  378. 
Parsons.  Samuel  H.,  225. 
I'auU,  James,  184. 
Pentecost,  Dorsey,  156. 
Perry,  Commodore  0.  FT.,  308,  309, 

310. 
"  Perry's  Victory,"  308. 
Pickaway  Plains,  81. 
Pipe,  Capt.,  a  Delaware  war  chief, 


113,  163.  174,  176,  177,  178,  179, 
180,  360,  362,  363,  3^3,  384. 

Piqua.  Shawaneae  village,  77,  121, 
I '.10,  192,  193,  350,406,  4(l7. 

Pirault,  a  Frenchman,  273. 

Pluggy's  Town,  35,40. 

Poe,  Adam,  134. 

Poe,  Andrew,  133,  134. 

"  Poe  Fight,"  The,  133,  134,  135. 

Point  Pleasant,  battle  of,  28. 

Pomoacan,  Delaware  Indian  name 
for  the  Wyandot  Half  King, 
143. 

Poole,  William  Frederick,  380. 

Posts  (British),  Western,  not  given 
up,  220;  each,  finally,  receives 
an  American  garrison,  299. 

Prince,  John,  305. 

Proctor,  Col.  Thomas,  256,  257. 

Proctor,  Gen.,  308,  309,  313,  -327, 
337,  391,  392. 

Proctor,  John,  53. 

Randolph,  Beverley.  275. 

Rangers  ("Butler's"),  129.  ' 

lied  Jacket,  a  Seneca  chief,  274. 

Reed,  Gen.  Joseph,  161. 

Reno,  William,  368. 

Revnolds,  Aaron,  196, 197.  204,  205, 
376. 

Rhea,  Tliomas,  256,  257. 

Rohbins,  a  trader,  145, 146,  149,  150. 

Rogers,  David,  110. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore  (in  The  Win- 
ning of  the  West),  5,  il,  26,  27,  29, 
40, 64,  69,  70,  74,  75, 81,  83,  97,  1 12, 
118,  120,  121,  122,  126,  129,  133, 
161,  163,  164,  171,  19.3,  198,  200, 
201,  204,  208,  321,  351,  379,  380, 
381 

Rose.'john,  161,  167,  172. 

Ross,  Alexander,  32. 

Rosa,  Capt.  Ezekiel,  167. 

Ruddle,  Capt.  Isaac.  119. 

Ruddle's  Station.  119,  121,  123. 

"  Salisbury  plain,"  10. 

Sample,  Mrs.  Samuel,  46. 

Savery,  William,  278,  279. 

Scotosh,  son  of  the  Half  King,  133, 
140,  141,149,  151. 

Scott,  Gen.,  259,  260. 

Scratch,  Leonard,  316,  399. 

Scull,  G.  D.,  377. 

Selby,  I.,  245. 

Selby,  Lieut.  Prideaux,  263. 

Sharpe,  a  Detroit  merchant,  291. 


424 


Index. 


Shawaneae    towns   (u[)per)   on    or 

nenr  Mad  river,  in  tho  Revolu- 
tion, 410. 
Shelby,  Gov..  309,  310. 
Slierman's  creek,  3,  4. 
Sherman's  Valley,  5,  6,  7,  10. 
Simcoe,  Gov.,  2S2,    287,   2'JI,    38r), 

3«7. 
Sinclair,  Lieut.-Gov.   Patrick,  117, 

US. 
Slover,  John,    171,    184,    185,    186, 

367,  368,  369,  370. 
Smith,  Philip,  168. 
Smith,  Thoma.s,  277. 
SniucktT,  I-iiac,  271. 
Snnko,  ('apt,   a  Shawanece  chief, 

191,  192,  269,  382. 
Snip,  a  Wyandot  war  chief,  61. 
Snloinoh's'town,  79,  190,  410. 
Si)enc.'r,  O.  M.,  131.  253,  267,  268, 

269,  270,290,  291,  292,323. 
Sprij;g8,  Zachariali,  141. 
"  Squaw  Campaign,"  The,  47,  48, 
•     50,51,114. 

"  .Squirrel  Hill,"  20,  331,  332,  333. 
St.  Clair,   Arthur,  24,   (now  Gov.) 

239,  241),  241,  242,  258,  260,  261. 
"St.  Clair's  Deleat,"  260-264,  270, 

271,  283,  ;]07,  404,  411. 
St.  Mary's,  town  of,  289,  290,  406, 
Stephenson,  John,  33. 
Stewart,  James,  316,  399. 
Stockwell,  a  renegade  loyalist,  235, 

237. 
Surphlit,  Hobert,  50,  62,  348. 
Surveying  begins  west  of  the  Ohio, 

258. 
Sutch,  Thos.  B.,  400. 
Suitenfield,  Mrs.,  308,  317. 
Symmes,  John  Cleve,  249,  250,  255, 

258. 
Tecumseh,  a  Shawanese  chief,  261, 

308,311,  321. 
Thames,  battle  of,    313,  320,  321, 

327,  404. 
The  "  Fallen  Timber,"  battle  of,  on 

the  Maumee,  285,  2*<6. 
The  ''  Fiillen  Timber,"  pack-horses 

at,  27-2;  attacked  by  Little  Tur- 
tle. 273. 
"  The  Fi.sh,''  an  Indian,  kills  Simon 

(iirty,  Sr.,  5. 
"Tne'l'oe   Fight,"    133,    134,    135, 

137,  150,  151. 
Thompaon,  Capt.  Andrew,  129,  131, 

352. 


Thwaites,  Heubon  f J  ,  380. 

Toniliiison,  Henj  ,  2'X 

Todd,  Col.  Johii,  198,  199. 

Todd,  Levi,  206. 

Todd,  John,  a  surgeon,  311. 

Todd,  Robert,  205. 

Treaty  of  Fort  Finney.  225,  226,  243; 
of  Fort  Greenville,  295,  297,  298, 
300,  301;  of  Fort  Uarn.ar,  239, 
241,  242;  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  221, 
222,  243;  of  Fort  Stanwix,  242, 
243. 

Treaties  at  Pittsburgh,  36,  40. 

Trigg,  Col.,  199. 

Tucker,  William,  interpreter,  63. 

Turner,  Mrs.  John,  taken  prisoner, 
8;  witnesses  the  awful  torture  of 
her  husband,  11;  at  Fort  Du- 
(juesne,  12;  is  heard  of  in  the 
wilderness,  ii.;  is  brought  in  to 
Pittsburgh,  16;  her  death  un- 
known, is. 

Turner,  Sr.,  .lohn,  kills  "The  Fish," 
5;  marries  Mrs.  Simon  Girty, 
Sr.,  if)  ;  son  .John  born,  ib.;  moves 
into  ,'^lierman's  Valley,  6;  a  sec- 
ond lieutenant  in  FortGrnnville, 
7;  surrenders  the  fort.  8;  made 
prisoner  by  the  French  and  In- 
dians, ih.;  taken  to  Kittanning, 
1 1 ;  tortured  at  the  stake,  ib. 

Turner,  John,  Jr.,  birth  of,  5; 
made  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Gran- 
ville, 8;  taken  to  Kittanning  by 
the  Inilians,  11;  bai)tized  at  Fort 
Duquesne,  12;  carried  to  the 
wilderness,  ib.;  brought  in  to 
Pittsburg,  16;  engaged  in  Dun- 
morf's  War,  26;  dances  Indian 
fashion  for  Dunmore's  diversion, 
30;  visits  Simon  Girty,  213;  be- 
comes a  loyal  citizen,  243;  makes 
a  second  visit  to  Simon,  307; 
makes  his  will,  332;  death  of, 
ib.;  concerning  his  baptism,  333; 
translation  of  the  record  of  his 
baptism  at  Fort  Duquesne,  337; 
his  will  given  in  full,  399,  400; 
his  property,  after  his  death,' 
sought  to  be  obtained  V)y  de- 
scendants of  his  half-brother, 
Thomas,  412. 

Turney,  Lieut.  John,  167. 

Upper  Sandusky,  the  old  location, 
61;  site  changed,  144,  172. 

Van  Bebber,  Capt.  John,  270. 


Index. 


425 


Villi  HcblxM-,  J(m«ipli,  270. 

Van  Bebbov,  llhodii,  270. 

Van  Meter's  fort,  244. 

Van  Meter,  Hannah,  killed  by  In 
dians,  -4'). 

Van  Meter,  John,  244. 

Walker,  William,  235,  2r.4,  3-i4. 

Wallace,  Mrs.  Robert,  l.')4,  \ul. 

Walker,  young  Isaac,  158,  15?. 

Walker,  Peter,  8,  9. 

Ward,  John,  74,  77. 

Wapakoneta,  82,  410. 

Wapatomica,  74,  77,  193,  350. 

Ward,  Capt.  Edward,  7. 

Washington, Gen. George,  lGI,(now 
Pre8t.)299. 

Washnash,  a  DcUawaro  Indian,  cap- 
tures Catharine  Mdott,  115. 

Wayne,  (Jon.  Anthony,  276,  277, 
282,  284,  L'S.'),  280,  288,  292,  296, 
297,  '-"W,  303,  308.  309,  406. 

Wharton,  Thomas,  53. 

Wheeling,  first  siege  of,  43,  344, 
345,  .'(-16;  second  siege  of,  201, 
208,  209. 

White  Eyes,  a  Delaware  chief,  32, 
60,  62,  338,  347. 


While  Mingo,  32. 
"Widow  Mvors's,"  401,  4n2. 
Wilkinson.CoI.  James,  259,  260. 
Willing,  Capt.  James,  47,  105,  130, 

346. 
Williamson,  David,  155,    156,   1.57, 

HW,  166,  171,356,3,57.358,360. 
"  Williiunson's    Expedition   to  the 

Tuscarawas,"  155-157,  163,  164. 
"  Wingemund"  (Wingenund),  356, 

359. 
Wingenund,  a  Delaware  war  chief, 

125,  172,  176,  177,  179,  356,  359, 

360. 
"Wingenund's  Camp,"  152,401,402. 
Winsor,   Justin    (on  "  Haldimand 

Papevs").  378. 
Wiseman,  253,  257. 
Wood,  James,  35. 
Workman,  Daniel,  320. 
Wyan<lot  towns,  location  of,  on  the 

Sandusky,  61. 
Young  (Michael),  a  Moravian,  146. 
Zane,  Elizabeth,  409,  410. 
Zeisberger,  David,  88,  98,  99,  101, 

103,  104,  115,  117,  133,  143,  144, 

145,  148,  156,  259,  353,  3.54. 


ERRATA. 


Fttge    11.     For"app1iefi  this  method  of  giving,"  read  "giveH,  in  like 
manner,"  etc. 
"       16.     Strike  out,  in    foot-note,  "also  tVie   Missouri  Gazette,  for 
May  7,  1814." 
•    "       19.     For  "  Katnpekbmen,"  each  time,  read  "  Katapecomen." 
"       24.     Strikeout  "that"  after  "complain." 
"      57.     For  "  to  tlie  Coshocton,"  read  "  to  Coshocton." 
"       74.     For  "  reaching  Wapatomica,"  read  "  reached  Wapatomica." 
"      98.     Strike  out  the  rest  of  the  paragraph  after  the  words  "posi- 
tively proven." 
"     120.     P'or  "without  knowledge  of  Bird's  or  McKee's  Official  Re- 
port," read  "without  having  seen   Bird's  or  Mc'Kee'a 
official  correspondence." 
"     123.     For  "  Official  Report,"  read  "  Correspondence." 
"     130.     For  "But  General    Irvine   did   not,"  etc.,  read  "General 

Irvine  did  not,"  etc. 
"     1.56.     For  "  previous  aggressions,"  read  "  previous  aggression." 
"     182.     For  "  killed  by  the  Americans,"  read  "  killed  of  the  Amer- 
icans." 
"     236.     For  "  Mack-a-cheek,"  read  "  Mac-a-cheek." 
"     258.     For  "  March  1,  1784,"  read  "April  19,  1785." 

"     273.     For  " Flue  Jacket's  town;  and  of  the  Maumee,"  read 

"and  of  Blue  Jacket's  town  on  the  Maumee,  and  down 
that."  etc. 
"     310.     For  "after  Harrisen,"  read  "after  Harrison." 
"    328.     Strike  out  one  of  the  quotation  points  after — Johnson's 

mounted  men," 
"     332.     For  "  McCasslin,"  read  "  McCaslin." 
"     336.     For  "Co.  Johnson's  mounted  men,"  read  "Col.  Johnson's 

mounted  men." 
"    346.    The  last  '1779  "should  be  "1777." 
"    350.     For  "  any  of  the  acts,"  read  "  most  of  the  acts." 
"    353.     For  "  from  the  truth,"  read  "  from  the  fact." 
"    354.    Strike  out — "The  intelligence  sent  by  Zeisberger,  the  Mo- 
ravian missionary,  to  Rrodhead  was  not  well  kept." 
"    360.    Strike  out  the  words — "  in  the  extract  above." 

(426) 


